Governments are increasingly exploring the use of the algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to improve government performance, increase the speed of decision making, and enhance the fairness of government decision making. Do citizens support this? Assuming that citizen support of the process of government decision making is necessary for institutional legitimacy, this talk explores citizens’ support for governments relying on algorithms for decision making. Drawing on data from more than a dozen countries, it identifies four distinct obstacles. First, citizens support various justifications for the use of algorithms, but no set of justifications strongly. Second, citizens evaluate (any) algorithmic innovation negatively versus the status quo. Third, citizens’ trust in algorithms develops independently of algorithmic performance. Fourth, opposition to algorithmic government is higher among those who fear the broader effects of automation and AI, suggesting a potential for a populist backlash against government use of algorithms for decision making.

Speaker: Peter Loewen, Director, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto; Associate Director, Schwartz Reisman Institute.

About this series:
Artificial intelligence is constantly evolving, playing an increasingly larger role in our lives, and transforming every sector from medicine to finance to law and far beyond. We often read about both the great promise of AI and its negative consequences. But what really is AI? How can AI advance human welfare by improving health, education, sustainability, equality and inclusion, access to justice, and more? What do we need to do to ensure that AI is built for public benefit, and how can we mitigate the harm AI can cause? To respond to these questions, the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society partnered with Canada School of Public Service to present “Artificial Intelligence is Here,” an eight-part series designed to explain what AI is, where it’s headed, and what workers in the public sector need to know about it.