Cobbe, Jennifer;
Veale, Michael;
Singh, Jatinder;
(2023)
Understanding accountability in algorithmic supply chains.
In:
Proceedings of FAccT '23: ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency.
(pp. pp. 1186-1197).
ACM (Association for Computing Machinery): Chicago, IL, USA.
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Abstract
Academic and policy proposals on algorithmic accountability often seek to understand algorithmic systems in their socio-technical context, recognising that they are produced by ‘many hands’. Increasingly, however, algorithmic systems are also produced, deployed, and used within a supply chain comprising multiple actors tied together by flows of data between them. In such cases, it is the working together of an algorithmic supply chain of different actors who contribute to the production, deployment, use, and functionality that drives systems and produces particular outcomes. We argue that algorithmic accountability discussions must consider supply chains and the difficult implications they raise for the governance and accountability of algorithmic systems. In doing so, we explore algorithmic supply chains, locating them in their broader technical and political economic context and identifying some key features that should be understood in future work on algorithmic governance and accountability (particularly regarding general purpose AI services). To highlight ways forward and areas warranting attention, we further discuss some implications raised by supply chains: challenges for allocating accountability stemming from distributed responsibility for systems between actors, limited visibility due to the accountability horizon, service models of use and liability, and cross-border supply chains and regulatory arbitrage.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Understanding accountability in algorithmic supply chains |
| Event: | FAccT '23: 2023 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency |
| Location: | Chicago, IL, USA |
| Dates: | 12th-15th June 2023 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1145/3593013.3594073 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1145/3593013.3594073 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Authors 2023. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Algorithmic accountability, supply chains, AI as a Service, general purpose AI, political economy, accountability horizon |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Laws |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10169099 |
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