Eastern Great Lakes Theory Workshop Talk

Social Processes, Information Flow, and Anonymized Network Data

Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University

Sunday, September 7, 9:00 am- 10:00am

ABSTRACT

The growth of on-line information systems supporting rich forms of social interaction has made it possible to study social network data at unprecedented levels of scale and temporal resolution. This offers an opportunity to address questions at the interface between the theory of computation and the social sciences, where mathematical models and algorithmic styles of thinking can help in formulating models of social processes and in managing complex networks as datasets.

We consider two lines of research within this general theme. The first is concerned with modeling the flow of information through a large network: the spread of new ideas, technologies, opinions, fads, and rumors can be viewed as unfolding with the dynamics of epidemic, cascading from one individual to another through the network. This suggests a basis for models of such phenomena, as well as new kinds of open questions.

The second line of research we consider is concerned with the privacy implications of large network datasets. An increasing amount of social network research focuses on datasets obtained by measuring the interactions among individuals who have strong expectations of privacy. To preserve privacy in such instances, the datasets are typically anonymized -- the names are replaced with meaningless unique identifiers, so that the network structure is maintained while private information has been suppressed. Unfortunately, there are fundamental limitations on the power of network anonymization to preserve privacy; we will discuss some of these limitations and some of their broader implications.

This talk is based on joint work with Lars Backstrom, Cynthia Dwork, and David Liben-Nowell.

Slides

Speaker Bio

Jon Kleinberg is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University. His research interests are centered around issues at the interface of networks and information, with an emphasis on the social and information networks that underpin the Web and other on-line media. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of MacArthur, Packard, and Sloan Foundation Fellowships, the Nevanlinna Prize from the International Mathematical Union, and the National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research.

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