The philosophical basis of algorithmic recourse

Conference paper (2020)

Authors

Suresh Venkatasubramanian University of Utah
M.R. Alfano Ethics & Philosophy of Technology - TPM
Research Group
Ethics & Philosophy of Technology (TPM) (TU Delft)
Algorithmic decision making Precarity Recourse Robust goods
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Published Date

2020

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Technology, Policy and Management

Department

Values Technology and Innovation

Research Group

Ethics & Philosophy of Technology

Abstract

Philosophers have established that certain ethically important values are modally robust in the sense that they systematically deliver correlative benefits across a range of counterfactual scenarios. In this paper, we contend that recourse - the systematic process of reversing unfavorable decisions by algorithms and bureaucracies across a range of counterfactual scenarios - is such a modally robust good. In particular, we argue that two essential components of a good life - temporally extended agency and trust - are underwritten by recourse. We critique existing approaches to the conceptualization, operationalization and implementation of recourse. Based on these criticisms, we suggest a revised approach to recourse and give examples of how it might be implemented - especially for those who are least well off.

Files

VENTPBv1.pdf
(.pdf | 0.747 Mb)