The scales of (algorithmic) justice

Every day, governmental and federally funded agencies --- including criminal courts, welfare agencies, and educational institutions --- make decisions about resource allocation using automated decision-making tools (Lecher, 2018; Fishel, Flack, & DeMatteo, 2018). Important factors surrounding the use of these tools are embedded both in their design and in the policies and practices of the various agencies that implement them. As the use of such tools is becoming more common, a number of questions have arisen about whether using these tools is fair, or in some cases, even legal (K.W. v. Armstrong, 2015; ACLU, Outten & Golden LLP, and the Communications Workers of America, 2019).