Machine Bias
Investigating Algorithmic Injustice
Investigating algorithmic injustice and the formulas that influence our lives.
Bias in Criminal Risk Scores Is Mathematically Inevitable, Researchers Say
ProPublica’s analysis of bias against black defendants in criminal risk scores has prompted research showing that the disparity can be addressed — if the algorithms focus on the fairness of outcomes.
Facebook Doesn’t Tell Users Everything It Really Knows About Them
The site shows users how Facebook categorizes them. It doesn’t reveal the data it is buying about their offline lives.
Facebook Says it Will Stop Allowing Some Advertisers to Exclude Users by Race
Facebook says it will build a system to prevent advertisers from buying credit, housing or employment ads that exclude viewers by race.
Where Traditional DNA Testing Fails, Algorithms Take Over
Powerful software is solving more crimes and raising new questions about due process.
Facebook Lets Advertisers Exclude Users by Race
Facebook’s system allows advertisers to exclude black, Hispanic, and other “ethnic affinities” from seeing ads.
Breaking the Black Box: How Machines Learn to Be Racist
Artificial Intelligence is only as good as the patterns we teach it. To illustrate the sensitivity of AI systems, we built an AI engine that deduced synonyms from news articles published by different types of news organizations.
Breaking the Black Box: When Machines Learn by Experimenting on Us
As we enter the era of artificial intelligence, machines regularly conduct experiments on human behavior. Here’s a look at how software used by the New York Times and New York Post uses you to test their headlines.
When Algorithms Decide What You Pay
The phone you use, the computer you own and the ZIP code you live in can all be factors in what prices you see when shopping online. Welcome to the world of mass customization.
Breaking the Black Box: What Facebook Knows About You
We live in an era of increasing automation. But as machines make more decisions for us, it is increasingly important to understand the algorithms that produce their judgments.
Amazon Says It Puts Customers First. But Its Pricing Algorithm Doesn’t
Amazon bills itself as “Earth’s most customer-centric company.” Yet its algorithm is hiding the best deal from many customers.
Making Algorithms Accountable
As algorithms control more aspects of our lives, we need to be able to challenge them.
ProPublica Responds to Company’s Critique of Machine Bias Story
Northpointe asserts that a software program it sells that predicts the likelihood a person will commit future crimes is equally fair to black and white defendants. We re-examined the data, considered the company’s criticisms, and stand by our conclusions.
Technical Response to Northpointe
Northpointe asserts that a software program it sells that predicts the likelihood a person will commit future crimes is equally fair to black and white defendants. We re-examined the data, considered the company’s criticisms, and stand by our conclusions.
Wisconsin Court: Warning Labels Are Needed for Scores Rating Defendants’ Risk of Future Crime
The court said judges can look at the scores – so long as their limitations are made clear.
The Senate’s Popular Sentencing Reform Bill Would Sort Prisoners By ‘Risk Score’
Federal prisoners would be scored according to their risk of recidivating. Those who got high scores would be ineligible for sentence reduction.
What Algorithmic Injustice Looks Like in Real Life
A computer program rated defendants’ risk of committing a future crime. These are the results.
Machine Bias
There’s software used across the country to predict future criminals. And it’s biased against blacks.
