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Back in 2015, I argued with a coworker that our new hiring algorithm was just a faster resume sorter, but now I see it was quietly deciding who even got a chance.

People keep saying 'the algorithm is just a tool' like it's neutral, but I realized after reading the ProPublica report on COMPAS that the real problem is we never even debated what 'fair' meant before we built the thing, so how can we fix it now without starting over?
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3 Comments
calebc40
calebc4023h ago
But starting over is a fantasy, right? You just patch the data and move on.
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jana881
jana88119h ago
Honestly, I felt the same way for years. Watching a team scrap a huge legacy system and build something clean changed my mind completely. Sometimes the patches cost more than starting fresh.
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riverdavis
riverdavis17h ago
What if we can't fix it because we built the wrong question?
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