Perspective
The Right Way to Regulate Algorithms
They’re intended to make decision-making more objective. But data-based tools will have the opposite effect if they aren’t subject to public scrutiny.
Which public school will your child attend? How severe a sentence will you receive in the criminal justice system? Will you earn tenure as a teacher? In many cities, a new force is playing a critical role in answering these questions: algorithms.
Cities rely on algorithms to help make decisions that affect people’s lives in meaningful ways, from assessing teacher performance to predicting the likelihood of criminal re-offense. And yet, the general public knows almost nothing about how they work.