A Microsoft Researcher on the Power (and Perils) of Building A.I.

The researchers pored through nearly 50,000 medical records and found that the software had recommended Black patients for additional care about half the time they should have, while white patients were recommended for additional care at a far higher rate. The reason, Gray explained, was that the algorithms factored in medical histories in predicting how much each patient was likely to cost the health care system if left untreated. This meant that white patients, who typically have better access to health care due to a variety of factors rooted in systemic racism, were given priority for certain treatments.