Princeton University’s Solon Barocas and lawyer Andrew Selbst have published their paper on “Big Data’s Disparate Impact.” While big data has its benefits, they argue, data mining as a decision-maker “has the potential to reproduce existing patterns of discrimination, inherit the prejudice of prior decision-makers or simply reflect the widespread biases that persist in society,” adding that antidiscrimination doctrines currently on the books aren’t equipped to handle the concerns arising from big data’s pitfalls. Editor’s Note: Solon Barocas will discuss this topic at the IAPP Privacy Academy and CSA Congress in San Jose, CA, on September 19. The IAPP’s Sam Pfeifle chatted with the researchers in June on their work, which was awarded the IAPP prize at the Privacy Law Scholars Conference.
Full Story