Did Artificial Intelligence Deny You Credit?

People who apply for a loan from a bank or credit card company, and are turned down, are owed an explanation of why that happened. It's a good idea -- because it can help teach people how to repair their damaged credit -- and it's a federal law, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Getting an answer wasn't much of a problem in years past, when humans made those decisions. But today, as artificial intelligence systems increasingly assist or replace people making credit decisions, getting those explanations has become much more difficult. Traditionally, a loan officer who rejected an application could tell a would-be borrower there was a problem with their income level, or employment history, or whatever the issue was.