Ethics of AI algorithms under examination - Data Matters

Sebastian Klovig Skelton's article in this week's CW ezine issue, 'Auditing for algorithmic discrimination' could hardly be more timely. The fall-out from the algorithmic exams fiascos of recent weeks – with the Highers in Scotland and the A-levels in the rest of the UK – is set to continue. These were not "black box algorithms" based on straightforwardly biased data, of the kind we have often heard about. The Scottish Qualifications Authority and Ofqual published the statistical models they chose (after what seems like a lot of head-scratching and brains-cudgelling) and it is clear what data they chose to use. However, it is also clear those models generated unjust results at the level of individual candidates.