Spain has become reliant on an algorithm to score how likely a domestic violence victim may be abused again and what protection to provide — sometimes leading to fatal consequences.
  • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    Pedantic Mathematician here.

    If it failed, then it was a heuristic, rather than an algorithm.

    Clearly, that’s the most important thing about this post.

    You’re welcome.

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
      0·
      4 months ago

      Pretty much anything trying to predict human behavior is a heuristic; people using them as if they’ve got some kind of certainty is a problem.

    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      0·
      4 months ago

      Why not both? A bad algorithm based on bad heuristics? There are many many algorithms that fail at what they’re supposed to do.

      As a non-condescending “mathematician”, I’m happy to help.