In May last year, we were invited to an expert workshop organised by the iRight Lab and Algoethik, a Bertelsmann Stiftung project on the topic of "Algo.rules" invited. Algorules are, in short, ethical design criteria for algorithmic systems.
Background
Algorithmic systems are being used in more and more areas of our everyday lives and therefore have a considerable influence on our daily lives. They sometimes make decisions that can have far-reaching consequences for individuals and society as a whole.
What are the Algo.Rules?
The Algo. rules are a catalogue of nine rules that should be observed in order to enable and facilitate a socially beneficial design and the corresponding use of algorithmic systems. These rules should already be observed during the development of the systems and implemented "by design". The target group of the Algo.Rules is therefore all persons who have a significant influence on the development and use of algorithmic systems. Developers, programmers and designers have a special role to play here. The Algo.rules are therefore intended to help design algorithmic systems according to ethical standards. They were developed in an open, participatory and interdisciplinary process with over 400 participants.
The workshop
The key question addressed in the workshop was how the Algo.rules can be integrated into the context in which developers work and how they can be technically concretised and implemented.
In small groups, the participants worked on various questions, such as
- With regard to relevance: which of the algo.rules are relevant for developers.
- With regard to concretisation:
- How can the algo.rules be integrated into the context of developers' actions and implemented technically?
- What do the Algo.Rules mean in practice?
- How can individual aspects of the algo.rules, such as accountability or traceability, be solved technically?
- With regard to implementation: How could the Algo.Rules be implemented for female developers? What framework conditions must be fulfilled so that female developers can implement the Algo.Rules?
The result: a practical guide
The result of the workshop can be found in a recently published practical guide. The guide is intended to support developers, programmers, designers and their superiors in implementing the Algo.Rules in their daily work practice
The practical guide to the Algo.Rules - Guidance for developers and their managers can be downloaded here free of charge: https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/de/publikationen/publikation/did/praxisleitfaden-zu-den-algorules-all-1
We were very happy to be part of the workshop!
Participants (alphabetical order): Ursula Garczarek, Jürgen Geuter, Irina Hardt, Marc Hauer, Johannes Hofmann, Stefanie Kegel, Ellen König, Ramak Molavi, Thomas Otto, Nadiem Sissouno, Tobias Sterbak, Detlef Steuer.
Illustration /Cover picture
Technology illustrations by Storyset
Photo: iRights Lab - one-day workshop for developers
