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How do transparency requirements differ between the EU and the US regarding algorithmic decision making?

Policy & EthicsBias

Drawn from Lutz Finger's Forbes column, LinkedIn writing, and Cornell teaching. Sources are cited inline so you can read the originals.

EU grants rights against automated decisions; US relies on external investigations.

In the US, algorithms are not allowed to discriminate against race, but without transparency it is hard to surface those biases. It often takes external investigations like ProPublica’s study showing Asian families were charged higher prices or the ACLU’s analysis revealing Amazon’s AI incorrectly identified 28 Congress members as criminals. In the EU, citizens have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated means. However, it would be more powerful if mandatory registers were established making this information publicly accessible.

President Biden Is Man, Woman And 40 Years Old - Why We Need Algorithmic Transparency · Forbes


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