"Algorithms can be an asset to nonprofit organizations, reducing costs and making processes more efficient," write Mancha and Ali, "but they can also be an ethical liability. "There are many examples of algorithms making unethical decisions. For example, " in mid-September, when Hurricane Irma battered the Florida peninsula, the algorithms airline companies use to price flights increased rates in response to peaks in demand." Uber's surge pricing did the same during the London attacks and New York Bombing. The simple principle that's it's not ethical to profit from tragedy eluded these systems. Algorithms also violated basic ethical codes when making hiring, lending and face recognition decisions. These lapses are problems with the technology per se, they're the result of companies that don't care about ethics. This article makes recommendations to change that: make ethics important in your organization, hire employees well-versed in ethics, and test your algorithms against ethical standards.
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