Companies are using inscrutable algorithms to make life-changing decisions about your job, loans, and education — and California officials just made it harder for its residents to fight back.
The California Privacy Protection Agency recently stripped away proposed protections that would have given workers and consumers the right to understand and opt out of automated decision-making systems. As reported by Justin Kloczko of Consumer Watchdog in CalMatters, the agency's board deleted rules that would have protected people in critical areas like employment, criminal justice, and access to essential goods when decisions are made by algorithms rather than humans.
Let's say you work in the food service industry for a large company, whose scheduling software assigns shifts to workers. For you, which shifts you receive mean everything because much of your salary depends on tips. But in the eyes of the algorithm, you could be deprioritized and miss out on lucrative weekend shifts based on mysterious data. Without your knowledge, information such as when you take a break, how fast you turned over a table or where you live could work against you.
Shouldn't you have the right to know the logic behind the algorithm, and the right to opt out of its automated decision?
The agency's pivot follows leadership changes, including the controversial departure of privacy advocates Ashkan Soltani and Vinhcent Le, and the appointment of tech entrepreneur Tom Kemp as director. Under Kemp, the board also weakened rules around AI training data and targeted advertising.
Previously:
• Two years later, Google solves 'racist algorithm' problem by purging 'gorilla' label from image classifier
• Fired by an algorithm, and no one can figure out why
• Should I use an algorithm here? EFF's 5-point checklist
