An internal assessment has revealed that an artificial intelligence (AI) system used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to detect welfare fraud shows bias related to age, disability, marital status, and nationality. Documents obtained from the DWP via a Freedom of Information request indicate that the machine-learning programme disproportionately flagged certain demographic groups for fraud investigations.
The revelation comes after previous assurances from the government that the system posed no discrimination concerns. However, the "statistically significant outcome disparity" from a "fairness analysis" indicates this is a misleading claim. Furthermore, it has been revealed that no evaluations have been made concerning biases related to race, sex, and other protected characteristics. Campaigners criticised the government for a "hurt first, fix later" approach and called for greater transparency about which groups might be unfairly targeted.
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