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Race variable is often correlated with other data. Look at red lining in real estate/banking. They marked black neighbourhoods with red boxes, white neighbourh
by throwaway_boi 8y ago
Race variable is often correlated with other data.
Look at red lining in real estate/banking. They marked black neighbourhoods with red boxes, white neighbourhoods with green. The bank would approve business and home loans depending on if you were in a red or green area. Algorithmically the banks did not engage in a racist practice but systemically they are.
- umvi 8y agoBut did they mark red areas because they were black neighborhoods or because historically people in those neighborhoods defaulted on loans? An algorithm as simple as "mark neighborhoods with high default rates as red, low default rates as green" would probably turn out to be "racist" even if it is also flagging poor white trailer parks with red. There's no easy way to solve that
- ska 8y agoAt least in the case of historic redlining (i.e. where the term came from), we don't have to wonder - there has been a ton of research done on this, and it was pretty clearly a racially motivated discriminatory practice. A fact which resulting in, among other measures, the fair housing act in the late 60s....
- candiodari 8y agoAnd it is very well known how to test and correct for that. In a human, however, it cannot be corrected. As you point out, it can be very hard to see what rules have to do with races. I would argue that in some cases it's bloody hard to see that you're doing it yourself.