Dimensions of Diversity in Human Perceptions of Algorithmic Fairness

A growing number of oversight boards and regulatory bodies seek to monitor and govern algorithms that make decisions about people’s lives. Prior work has explored how people believe algorithmic decisions should be made, but there is little understanding of how individual factors like sociodemographics or direct experience with a decision-making scenario may affect their ethical views. We take a first step toward filling this gap by exploring how people’s perceptions of one aspect of procedural algorithmic fairness (the fairness of using particular features in an algorithmic decision) relate to their (i) demographics (age, education, gender, race, political views) and (ii) personal experiences with the algorithmic decision-making scenario. We find that political views and personal experience with the algorithmic decision context significantly influence people’s perceptions about the fairness of using different features for bail decision-making. Drawing on our results, we discuss the implications for algorithmic oversight including the need to consider multiple dimensions of diversity in composing oversight and regulatory bodies.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.00808

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Ryan Watkins

Professor at George Washington University

I am a Professor with Human-Technology Collaboration and Educational Technology programs at George Washington University in Washington DC. I have written 12 books and more than 100 articles, and I co-host of the Parsing Science podcast where scientists tell the stories behind their research. I am also the developer of the WeShareScience.com online platform for sharing research videos, and SciencePods.com where researchers can create free podcasts about their science. My research interests include human interactions with intelligent machines, needs, needs assessments, and instructional design.