Benefits of discriminatory algorithms unproven, drawbacks are clear

Dr. Gerwin van Schie © Christl de Kloe - When Dutch authorities make a distinction in their databases between citizens according their geographic origins, it is rarely aimed at correcting inequalities. Gerwin van Schie demonstrates this in his dissertation. Instead, people with a migration background are disadvantaged and the use of data deepens the dividing lines in Dutch society. In his dissertation 'The Datafication of Race-Ethnicity', for which he received his PhD from Utrecht University on 19 September 2022, Gerwin van Schie delves into the data systems of Dutch government bodies. He shows that from about 2005 the possibility of using algorithms to uncover patterns in large amounts of data (data mining) was enthusiastically embraced as a basis for policy. The origin of citizens was also considered relevant here. Initially, it concerned the distinction between 'native' and 'immigrant' citizens, later citizens with a 'Western' or 'non-Western migration background'.