When Algorithms Dominate, Values ​​Can Wither

Magazine Winter 2023 Issue

Building responsible AI systems starts with recognizing that technology solutions implicitly prioritize efficiency.

Dirk Lindebaum, Vern Glaser, Christine Moser and Mehreen Ashraf Reading time: 12 min

Topics Subscribe Permissions and PDF Share Twitter Facebook Linkedin

Aad Goudappel/theispot.com

Interest in the possibilities of algorithms and big data continues to blossom as early adopters take advantage of AI systems that automate decisions as varied as customer recommendation, the selection of candidates, the detection of fraud and the optimization of logistics routes. 1 But when AI applications fail, they can do so quite dramatically.2

Take the recent example of the 'robodebt' scandal in Australia.3 In 2015, the Australian government introduced its Earnings Compliance Scheme, with the aim of clawing back unemployment and disability benefits had been inappropriately paid to beneficiaries. It sought to identify overpayments by analyzing discrepancies between annual income reported by individuals and income assessed by the Australian Tax Office. Previously, the department had used a data-matching technique to identify discrepancies, which government employees then investigated to determine whether people had indeed received benefits to which they were not entitled. Aiming to evolve this process...