Being Progressive Shouldn't Mean Being Anti-Algorithm

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, speaking at an event in January 2019 honoring the legacy of Dr. Luther King, said, "Algorithms are still made by human beings, and those algorithms are still pegged to basic human assumptions. And if you don't fix the bias, then you are just automating the bias." Though her comments were correct--algorithms can indeed reflect and exhibit human bias--Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's framing of the intersection of algorithms and fairness highlighted an often-ignored issue in progressive politics. The political movement, defined in part by its commitment to social justice, is unsurprisingly critical of the potential for algorithms, particularly AI, to facilitate discrimination, yet seemingly pays little attention to the ways in which algorithms can actually reduce discrimination.