Regulators should encourage adoption of fair-lending algorithms

In 1869, the English judge Baron Bramwell rejected the idea that "because the world gets wiser as it gets older, therefore it was foolish before." Financial regulators should adopt this same reasoning when reviewing financial institutions' efforts to make their lending practices fairer using advanced technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning. If regulators don't, they risk holding back progress by incentivizing financial institutions to stick with the status quo rather than actively look for ways to make lending more inclusive. The simple, but powerful, concept articulated by Bramwell underpins a central public policy pillar: You can't use evidence that someone improved something against them to prove wrongdoing. In law this is called the doctrine of "subsequent remedial measures." It incentivizes people to continually improve products, experiences and outcomes without fear that their efforts will be used against them.