4 episodes
People. Law. Power. From PLP. Public Law Project, London, UK.
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This podcast is for anyone interested in what happens when the state acts unlawfully, the impact on people who are marginalised, and how we can achieve a fairer society where power is held to account.
Public Law Project (https://publiclawproject.org.uk/) exists to help people in the UK who may have been treated unlawfully by the authorities. We work for access to justice for all. We call for more open and accountable Government. We research and bring to light issues in public law that matter to the public.
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Can AI discriminate?
From reordering your favourite takeaway to choosing which series to watch next, we use artificial intelligence all the time.
But what about when AI is used for decisions that actually matter? Like whether a person with disabilities gets the support they need to live independently, or how the police predict who is going to commit a crime?
With people’s rights and freedom on the line, the stakes are much higher – especially because AI can discriminate.
To unpack all of this we’re joined by Griff Ferris, Senior Legal and Policy Officer at campaign organisation Fair Trials, to discuss the extent to which AI can discriminate, the impact it has on people who are already marginalised, and what we can do about it.
Mentioned in this episode:
Fair Trials’ predictive policing quiz
Fair Trials’ report Automating Injustice
The HART algorithm used by Durham Police
The Government’s AI regulation white paper
Public Law Project’s Tracking Automated Government register -
Tech for social good – and why we need it now
From data protection rights and facial recognition technology to hostile environment data sharing and shaping the government’s use of technology, PLP Legal Director, Ariane Adam, and Research Fellow in new technologies and automation, Mia Leslie, ask whether tech can be used for good and what it might look like, with special guest Gracie Mae Bradley. Gracie is Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, and was previously Interim Director at Liberty.
Gracie Mae Bradley’s book, Against Borders: The Case for Abolition, is available here
The Government’s AI regulation white paper has been published since recording and is available here
Read more information about Liberty’s successful challenge to the Gangs Matrix here
Read more about Privacy International’s intervention in a judicial review challenge to the Home Office’s policy of seizing the mobile phones of all migrants who arrived to the UK by small boat between April 2020 and November 2020 here
Dark Matters - On the Surveillance of Blackness by Simone Browne is available here -
The case for transparency
This episode investigates the use of automated decision-making in government and the lack of transparency that accompanies it. Researchers Alexandra Sinclair and Tatiana Kazim speak to Professor Joe Tomlinson about the steps people and government can take to improve this aspect of automation.
Discussed in this episode: the PLP's TAG register, Joe Tomlinson’s book, Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard Hub, the Australian Robodebt scandal, the English language testing scandal, and the UK Home Office's sham marriage algorithm.
Show website: www.peoplelawpower.org -