Facets of Disparate Impact: Evaluating Legally Consistent Bias in Machine Learning

Leveraging current legal standards, we define bias through the lens of marginal benefits and objective testing with the novel metric "Objective Fairness Index". This index combines the contextual nuances of objective testing with metric stability, providing a legally consistent and reliable measure. Utilizing the Objective Fairness Index, we provide fresh insights into sensitive machine learning applications, such as COMPAS (recidivism prediction), highlighting the metric's practical and theoretical significance. The Objective Fairness Index allows one to differentiate between discriminatory tests and systemic disparities.