December 18, 2017
Datta’s 2015 algorithm bias study referenced by HuffPost UK
Embrace an android. That’s the rallying cry of the UK’s deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson. His party’s Future of Work Commission recently released a study finding, in part, that the “increasing use of hi-tech machines could create as many jobs as it destroys,” but only if the government invests in training low-skilled workers to fill those jobs. With the rise of automation in the workplace, the Commission also recommended the establishment of ethics and algorithm training to prohibit discrimination by algorithm. Used as a reference was a 2015 study co-authored by Anupam Datta. Datta’s study revealed that Google ads—which are generated by algorithm—for high-paying executive positions were shown to substantially more men than women. Read more.