Slave to the Algorithm? Why a 'right to an explanation' is probably not the remedy you are looking for

Cite as Lilian Edwards and Michael Veale, 'Slave to the Algorithm? Why a 'right to an explanation' is probably not the remedy you are looking for' (2017) 16 Duke Law and Technology Review 18–84. (First posted on SSRN 24 May 2017)Algorithms, particularly machine learning (ML) algorithms, are increasingly important to individuals’ lives, but have caused a range of concerns revolving mainly around unfairness, discrimination and opacity. Transparency in the form of a “right to an explanation” has emerged as a compellingly attractive remedy since it intuitively promises to “open the black box” to promote challenge, redress, and hopefully heightened accountability. Amidst the general furore over algorithmic bias we…