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The Tyranny of Algorithmic Authoritarianism

posted by takyon on Sunday May 03 2015, @09:26AM   
from the garbage-in-garbage-out dept.

tt0064177 writes:

Tim O'Reilly has advocated for the idea of algorithmic regulation - reducing the role of people and replacing them with automated systems in order to make goverment policy less biased and more efficient. But the idea has been criticized as utopianism, where actual implementations are likely to make government more opaque and even less responsive to the citizens who have the least say in the operation of society.

Now, as part of New America's annual conference What Drives Innovation Around the Country? Virginia Eubanks has written an essay examining such automation in the cases of pre-crime and welfare fraud. Is it possible to automate away human judgment from the inherently human task of governance and still achieve humane results? Or is inefficiency and waste an unavoidable part of the process?

• Algorithmic guilt Algorithmic guilt (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 03 2015, @11:31PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 03 2015, @11:31PM (#178274)

  http://boingboing.net/2015/05/01/algorithmic-guilty-using-secr.html [boingboing.net]

          In December 2007, Indiana resident Sheila Perdue received a notice in the mail that she must participate in a telephone interview in order to be recertified to receive public assistance. In the past, Perdue, who is deaf and suffers from emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and bipolar disorder, would have visited her local caseworker to explain why this was impossible. But the state’s welfare eligibility system had recently been “modernized,” leaving a website and an 800 number as the primary ways to communicate with the Family and Social Services Administration.

          Perdue requested and was denied an in-person interview. She gathered her paperwork, traveled to a nearby help center, and requested assistance. Employees at the center referred her to the online system. Uncomfortable with the technology, she asked for help with the online forms and was refused. She filled out the application to the best of her ability. Several weeks later, she learned she was denied recertification. The reason? “Failure to cooperate” in establishing eligibility.

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• Re:Algorithmic guilt (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @02:56AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2015, @02:56AM (#178303)

  Gee thanks for linking to a summary on some other site.
  Now if BoingBoing's summary had as much background detail as this summary right here.

  Parent