Optimizing Government The Regulatory Review

The Optimizing Government Project brings together scholars and researchers to discuss the use of machine learning by government. In recent years, the private sector has succeeded in finding many ways to leverage machine learning--a type of artificial intelligence that enables computers to "learn and adapt through experience." Well-known private sector applications of machine learning include Google's self-driving car project, online recommendations personalized for customers on websites like Amazon and Netflix, and fraud detection by credit card companies. But as the private sector embraces machine learning in new ways, the application of machine learning by government agencies has only started to take root. The use of artificial intelligence by government, though, raises important questions for a democratic society--about fairness, equality, transparency, and accountability.