New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has signed into law the first-ever US bill examining algorithmic bias. New York City has unanimously passed a bill that will attempt to provide transparency to the way that city government agencies use algorithms. The bill allows for a task force to be appointed looking into how the city's justice system uses algorithms. The legislation was sparked by a 2016 investigation by ProPublica revealing systemic digital bias among judicial risk assessment programmes, favouring the release of white inmates over black counterparts. In an interview with BuzzFeed News, De Blasio, who is running for re-election, said he would sign the bill.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has signed into law the first-ever US bill examining algorithmic bias. The bill allows for a task force to be appointed looking into how the city's justice system uses algorithms. The legislation was sparked by a 2016 investigation by ProPublica revealing systemic digital bias among judicial risk assessment programmes, favouring the release of white inmates over black counterparts. In an interview with BuzzFeed News, De Blasio, who is running for re-election, said he would sign the bill.