Algorithms are powerful tools that can only be as clever as we humans have trained them to be. They are now used in a wide variety of areas: As an application program, propaganda machine or also as insurance software. Algorithms learn from data that researchers make available to them. In this way, however, they also take on their prejudices. Why this is so dangerous and how one can counteract it – a comment on the programmed discrimination.
A well-intentioned approach
The now
most recent case of a misguided algorithm comes from US hospitals and their caring health insurers. In order to reduce costs, more and more of these health care institutions are investing in the prevention of patients. One approach for a categorization system is an algorithm that classifies patients according to the level of care they require. First of all a laudable thought: the whole thing saves time and money.
For...
