The Algorithmic Imprint | Upol Ehsan, Ranjit Singh, Jacob Metcalf, Mark Riedl @ FAccT 2022
When an algorithm causes harm, is discontinuing it enough to address its harms?
This paper introduces the concept of the **The Algorithmic Imprint** to show how algorithmic harms can persist long after the algorithm is discontinued. It chronicles the 2020 Ofqual Algorithmic Grading Scandal, not from the UK, but from a Bangladeshi perspective. The concept of the Algorithmic Imprint helps us understand how the algorithm's impact lives on in the algorithm's afterlife much the remnants of palimpsest remain. Critically examining our current conception of algorithmic impact, it expands how we may view algorithmic impact, especially in the algorithm's afterlife (after being discontinued). It also offers practical and actionable guidance on how an imprint-aware mindset can inform algorithmic design.
This is a presentation of the paper "The Algorithmic Imprint" to be presented at the ACM Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) conference.
Here is a quick tweetorial covering the key points: https://bit.ly/AlgorthmicImprint_Tweetorial