Contestable City Algorithms

Abstract

The increasing use of algorithmic decision-making systems in the public realm and in citieshas led to an urgent call for more transparencyand accountability. While recent work in algorith-mic fairness and human-centred ML has exploredways to include the concerns of people into thedesign of ML systems, the “street-level” expe-rience of algorithmic systems is not well under-stood. In this paper, we present a case study of a“transparent electric vehicle charge point” whichis designed to provide electric vehicle drivers withinsights of the operation of smart charging algo-rithms. Exploring limitations of the transparencyideal, we identify the need for contestability as acritical aspect of future public decision-makingsystems.