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arXiv:1606.08813stat.ML

European Union regulations on algorithmic decision-making and a "right to explanation"

Bryce Goodman, Seth Flaxman

Abstract

We summarize the potential impact that the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation will have on the routine use of machine learning algorithms. Slated to take effect as law across the EU in 2018, it will restrict automated individual decision-making (that is, algorithms that make decisions based on user-level predictors) which "significantly affect" users. The law will also effectively create a "right to explanation," whereby a user can ask for an explanation of an algorithmic decision that was made about them. We argue that while this law will pose large challenges for industry, it highlights opportunities for computer scientists to take the lead in designing algorithms and evaluation frameworks which avoid discrimination and enable explanation.

arXiv comments
presented at 2016 ICML Workshop on Human Interpretability in Machine Learning (WHI 2016), New York, NY
Journal reference
AI Magazine, Vol 38, No 3, 2017
DOI
doi:10.1609/aimag.v38i3.2741
Subjects
stat.MLMachine Learning (Statistics) cs.CYComputers and Society cs.LGMachine Learning

On Hacker News

Linked by 8 identifiable commenters in 8 comments across 7 threads, from Jul 2016 to Oct 2018. Found in 7 HN submissions from Jun 2016 to Jul 2016. Open submission discussions.

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Discussed in comments7 threads

  1. How Do Insurance Companies Know My Health History? (2017) 1 comment

    • Along with the GDPR, the EU also bought "Right to Explanation" for algorithmic decision making. Basically, a user has the right to ask for an explanation on an algorithmic decision. This regulation has been mostly buried in the deluge of GDPR content but it's an important shift…

      denzil_correaView on HNParent context

  2. Algorithmic decision making and the cost of fairness (2017) 1 comment

    • Europe has also passed “right to explanation” to help with this issue which is great. unfortunately it seems they came up with it in isolation from researchers on this topic and went with the don't record it philosophy. here is a good resource on that…

      dspokaView on HNParent context

  3. You can probably use deep learning even if you don't have a lot of data 1 comment

    • This is an area that fades in and out of focus with such venues as the Workshop on Human Interpretability in Machine Learning (WHI) [1]. It's becoming increasingly important when it comes to auditability and understanding of what is actually learned by algorithm. Avoiding…

      blueblobView on HNParent context

  4. Approaching fairness in machine learning 2 comments

    • Another recent paper on this topic: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1606.08813v3.pdf. It shows how naive lending algorithms can skew against minority groups simply because there is less data available about them, even if their expected repayment rate is the same. It can be…

      tlbView on HNParent context

    • Lives of members of social groups can be different for historical reasons. Because of this, the best selection of features (as in, how we select and encode relevant aspects of a dataset for a particular problem) that one would need to use, as well as the correlations between…

      agentcoopsView on HNParent context

  5. Make Algorithms Accountable 1 comment

    • Here is a paper [1] discussing the effects of the new European Union legislation mentioned in the article ("right to explanation"). Interesting related read, regardless of the validity of the numbers mentioned in this opinion piece. [1] http://arxiv.org/pdf/1606.08813v2.pdf

      wiwofoneView on HNParent context

  6. Training Computers to Find Future Criminals 1 comment

    • The European Union are likely to accelerate much of this type of research. They recently introduced regulations specifically targeting algorithmic decision-making and a "right to explanation" for automated decisions. There's a Wired article[1] on the general scene and a paper…

      SmerityView on HNParent context

  7. Artificial Intelligence Is Setting Up the Internet for a Huge Clash with Europe 1 comment

    • From the linked paper (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1606.08813v1.pdf) EU regulations on algorithmic decision-making and a “right to explanation” Bryce Goodman, Seth Flaxman We summarize the potential impact that the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation will have on…

      IsamuView on HNParent context

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