Overview[edit]

There are different definitions of ADM based on the level of automation involved. Some definitions suggests ADM involves decisions made through purely technological means without human input,[4] such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (Article 22). However, ADM technologies and applications can take many forms ranging from decision-support systems that make recommendations for human decision-makers to act on, sometimes known as augmented intelligence[5] or 'shared decision-making',[2] to fully automated decision-making processes that make decisions on behalf of individuals or organizations without human involvement.[6] Models used in automated decision-making systems can be as simple as checklists and decision trees through to artificial intelligence and deep neural networks (DNN).


Since the 1950s computers have gone from being able to do basic processing to having the capacity to undertake complex, ambiguous and highly skilled tasks such as image and speech recognition, gameplay, scientific and medical analysis and inferencing across multiple data sources. ADM is now being increasingly deployed across all sectors of society and many diverse domains from entertainment to transport.


An ADM system (ADMS) may involve multiple decision points, data sets, and technologies (ADMT) and may sit within a larger administrative or technical system such as a criminal justice system or business process.

Search (includes 1-2-1, 1-2-many, data matching/merge)

Matching (two different things)

Mathematical Calculation (formula)

The , introduced in 2016, is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union (EU). Article 22(1) enshrines the right of data subjects not to be subject to decisions, which have legal or other significant effects, being based solely on automatic individual decision making.[39][40] GDPR also includes some rules on the right to explanation however the exact scope and nature of these is currently subject to pending review by the Court of Justice of the European Union.[41] These provisions were not first introduced in the GDPR, but have been present in a similar form across Europe since the Data Protection Directive in 1995, and the 1978 French law, the loi informatique et libertés.[42] Similarly scoped and worded provisions with varying attached rights and obligations are present in the data protection laws of many other jurisdictions across the world, including Uganda, Morocco and the US state of Virginia.[43]

European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Rights for the explanation of public sector automated decisions forming 'algorithmic treatment' under the French .[42]

loi pour une République numérique

Algorithm Watch, Germany

Australia

ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society

Canada

Citizen Lab

Informatics Europe

Many academic disciplines and fields are increasingly turning their attention to the development, application and implications of ADM including business, computer sciences, human computer interaction (HCI), law, public administration, and media and communications. The automation of media content and algorithmically driven news, video and other content via search systems and platforms is a major focus of academic research in media studies.[27]


The ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (ACM FAccT) was established in 2018 to study transparency and explainability in the context of socio-technical systems, many of which include ADM and AI.


Key research centres investigating ADM include:

Automated decision support

Algorithmic bias

Decision-making software

Decision Management

Ethics of artificial intelligence

Government by algorithm

Machine learning

Recommender systems