Can we trust the algorithms used by government departments?

The failings of the Government’s Robodebt scheme damaged many innocent lives. The operation of the scheme was driven by erroneous algorithms. Why was this allowed to happen?

The use of algorithms is important to contemporary life including, the operation of government services but should be transparent. Source: Photo by kevin dooley/creative commons

Some people have suggested that the use of algorithms in Government services should be more transparent.  Any bias that is present in an algorithm needs to be eliminated.  Richardus Eko Indrajit,professor of Computing at the Perbanas Institute, suggests that errors will occur if use of the algorithm is based on insufficient data and trialling.

Listen to SBS Indonesian every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 3 pm.

Follow us on Facebook and catch us on podcasts. 

And you can keep abreast of the latest information about the corona virus in your language at sbs.com.au/coronavirus