Giving Compass' Take:

• Rachel Rosenberg and Michael explain how ideas 42 is working to combine behavioral science and machine learning to create significant, scalable social impact. 

• How can funders support the research and implementation of this type of social impact strategy? What could this technology do in issue areas you are engaged in? 

• Learn how behavioral design teams can work to improve cities. 

Imagine entering college for the first time. In addition to starting day one in a completely new environment, you have countless decisions to make within just a couple of weeks that will determine your path for the next two to four years: “What do I want to study?” “Which courses do I need to take?” “Should I work? Full-time, part-time?” “How can I balance my credits so I graduate before my financial aid expires?” Maybe your school has a well-staffed advising office and you stop in for some advice – or, perhaps it is under-resourced, and you wait 45 minutes (or days) for an impersonal 15-minute appointment before being rushed out with a stack of papers and few answers.

Not surprisingly, you would not be the first person to ask many of these questions, yet there often aren’t clear (or easy to find) answers. But what if there was a way to see, at a glance, what other students like you (with many of these same questions in their minds, and similar situations in their lives) had chosen, and how it ultimately worked out for them?

Based on a combination of existing data like your interests and past academic performance, you could get an automated recommendation tailored to outline the best potential pathways for you—providing simpler options for the choices you can make, and leaving you with greater confidence that you will graduate on time. Following your personalized recommendations, you would also be enrolled in an automated support program. Designed specifically for a student like you, the program would help keep you on track for your first year of school, using precise levels of contact to provide no more and no less support than you’re likely to need.

Read the full article about behavioral science and machine learning by Rachel Rosenberg and Michael Stern at ideas42.