NYC May Be at the Vanguard of Algorithmic Accountability in 2018

December 22, 2017

• Internet Architecture
• Privacy & Data

The New York City Council has taken a proactive step by enacting a bill establishing a task force to explore fairness, accountability, and transparency in automated decision-making systems operated by the city. This is a big deal. The use of these technologies by city governments have real impacts on citizens. Today, in New York City, algorithms have been used to assign children to public schools, evaluate teachers, target buildings for fire inspections, and make policing decisions. However, public insight into how these systems work and how these decisions are being reached is inadequate.

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The Role of Automated Decision-making in Commercial Health

August 10, 2017

• Privacy & Data

Are we creating health management systems that are responsive to differences, or ones that spit back content riddled with historical bias and discrimination? This question has implications far beyond an individual’s health; the data generated by consumer-facing health technologies frequently ends up informing broader health practices and public health research.

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Digital Decisions Tool

August 08, 2017

• Privacy & Data

Two years ago, CDT embarked on a project to explore what we call “digital decisions” – the use of algorithms, machine learning, big data, and automation to make decisions that impact individuals and shape society. To help mitigate harm at the design level, we have launched the first public version of our digital decisions tool..

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