Should algorithms decide your future? Ethics of Algorithms at a glance in English and Arabic

Algorithms are the brains of our computers, mobiles, Internet of Things. Algorithms are increasingly used to make decisions for us, about us, or with us – oftentimes without us realising it. Hiring algorithms, predictive policing and Facebook feed are just couple examples that our everyday life is shaped by algorithms.

Why do algorithms raise ethical concerns? Because they keep information away from us, make subjective decisions and – most importantly – we don’t always know how they work.

CIHR put together a publication which summarises key issues of the Ethics of Algorithms debates. It was based on an earlier publication “The Ethics of Algorithms: from radical content to self-driving cars” and an event on the Ethics of Algorithms, which took place on March 9-10, 2015 in Berlin. The research was supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• You can read as a website here.
• For download of the print version click here.
• There is also a translation in Arabic available here.
• For more information about the Ethics of Algorithms project visit the website here.