Nick Diakopoulos
A new form of computational journalism that I call "Algorithmic Accountability Reporting" is emerging to apply the core journalistic functions of watchdogging and investigative accountability reporting to algorithms. In this talk I will discuss how algorithmic accountability reporting is used by journalists as a mechanism for articulating the power structures, biases, and influences that computational artifacts play in society. And I’ll trace various legal, technical, and regulatory challenges that remain, offering new openings for the development of tools. Finally, I will discuss the ethical mandate for transparency of algorithms in use by both corporations and governments and proffer for discussion an initial transparency policy that delineates what dimensions of algorithms might be disclosed, either voluntarily or compulsory through future regulation.