Abstract
Decision-making assisted by algorithms developed by machine learning is increasingly determining our lives. Unfortunately, full opacity about the process is the norm. Can transparency contribute to restoring accountability for such systems? Several objections are examined: the loss of privacy when data sets become public, the perverse effects of disclosure of the very algorithms themselves ('gaming the system' in particular), the potential loss of competitive edge, and the limited gains in answerability to be expected since sophisticated algorithms are inherently opaque. It is concluded that transparency is certainly useful, but only up to a point: extending it to the public at large is normally not to be advised. Moreover, in order to make algorithmic decisions understandable, models of machine learning to be used should either be interpreted ex post or be interpretable by design ex ante.
Index Terms
- Big data and algorithmic decision-making: can transparency restore accountability?
Recommendations
A rights-based approach to open government data
ICTD '19: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and DevelopmentOpen Government Data(OGD) is the latest entrant to the field of Governance and to its sub-field of transparency and accountability. The data on many rights-based programmes are increasingly being published in the public domain to enable citizens to ...
A Step Towards Empowerment and Digital Inclusion of Rural Public in India
ICEGOV '17: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic GovernanceThe emergence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has provided an easy, effective, economic and efficient way to provide various government services and welfare schemes at grass root level. Indian government is also moving towards e-...
Algorithmic Decision Making in Public Services: A CSCW-Perspective
GROUP '20: Companion Proceedings of the 2020 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group WorkEach day the public administration makes thousands of decisions with consequences for the welfare of its citizens. An increasing number of such decisions are supported or made by algorithmic decision making (ADM) systems, yet there is a widespread ...
Comments