I think the main point of the article is that the algorithms are applied without deference to real world conditions or impact.
I'm not seeing evidence that algorithms are worse than people in this regard. How many horror stories are there of people citing rules or policy "without deference to real world conditions," or just simply being flat-out wrong? It's almost a cliche when talking about government bureaucracies.
I'm less concerned about algorithms strictly applying policy (that's what they do after all) and more interested in whether overall results are better than what humans do. Most people have biases about one thing or another (race, gender, age, physical appearances) and it's very difficult to eliminate those as they may be operating below the level of conscious thought. Also government bureaucracies aren't exactly known for hiring the best and brightest. It would seem to me likely that algorithms should eliminate those issues, at least.
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I think the main point of the article is that the algorithms are applied without deference to real world conditions or impact.
I'm not seeing evidence that algorithms are worse than people in this regard. How many horror stories are there of people citing rules or policy "without deference to real world conditions," or just simply being flat-out wrong? It's almost a cliche when talking about government bureaucracies.
I'm less concerned about algorithms strictly applying policy (that's what they do after all) and more interested in whether overall results are better than what humans do. Most people have biases about one thing or another (race, gender, age, physical appearances) and it's very difficult to eliminate those as they may be operating below the level of conscious thought. Also government bureaucracies aren't exactly known for hiring the best and brightest. It would seem to me likely that algorithms should eliminate those issues, at least.
Edit: posted before I saw jqm's reply