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Engaging rational discrimination: exploring reasons for placing regulatory constraints on decision support systems

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Abstract

In the future systems of ambient intelligence will include decision support systems that will automate the process of discrimination among people that seek entry into environments and to engage in search of the opportunities that are available there. This article argues that these systems must be subject to active and continuous assessment and regulation because of the ways in which they are likely to contribute to economic and social inequality. This regulatory constraint must involve limitations on the collection and use of information about individuals and groups. The article explores a variety of rationales or justifications for establishing these limits. It emphasizes the unintended consequences that flow from the use of these systems as the most compelling rationale.

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  1. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Oscar H. Gandy Jr.

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Gandy, O.H. Engaging rational discrimination: exploring reasons for placing regulatory constraints on decision support systems. Ethics Inf Technol 12, 29–42 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-009-9198-6

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