Data scientists roaming the room, visitors having busy conversations, christmas jingles in the background, setting the mood for the evening. Last week I presented the #algorules project at the Berlin based Data Science Agency idalab, asking questions like “What standards of quality could algorithms be held to? and How is it possible to make sure that these standards are actually being implemented?

In the joint #algorules project of the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the independent Think Tank iRights.lab we are currently developing a quality criteria catalogue for the ethical use of algorithmic systems, comparable to the Press Code for Journalism or the Hippocratic Oath in Medicine. The catalogue contains criteria such as the creation of transparency and explainability, the definition of responsibilities prior to the implementation of the technology and the principle that non-controllable systems may not be used in the first place.

In the talk, I also presented case studies of algorithmic decision making systems (ADM) used in education and public administration, success factors of professional ethics codes and the path forward of the #algorules project.

Check out the presentation slides here (since the talk was held in English rather spontaniously, the slides are in German):


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