Algorithmic Risk Assessments Can Alter Human Decision-Making Processes in High-Stakes Government Contexts

Understand

Governments are increasingly turning to algorithmic risk assessments when making important decisions, such as whether to release criminal defendants before trial.

• Policymakers assert that providing public servants with algorithmic advice will improve human risk predictions and thereby lead to better (e.g., fairer) decisions.
• Yet because many policy decisions require balancing risk-reduction with competing goals, improving the accuracy of predictions may not necessarily improve the quality of decisions.
• If risk assessments make people more attentive to reducing risk at the expense of other values, these algorithms would diminish the implementation of public policy even as they lead to more accurate predictions.