Safeguarding equality in the european algorithmic society: tackling discrimination in algorithmic profiling through eu equality law
As the number and reach of artificial intelligence (AI) applications are rapidly growing, empirical evidence and global awareness about the structural and systemic risks of discrimination (‘algorithmic bias’) linked to these technologies have increased over the past years. One AI technology has attracted particular attention: based on data mining, algorithmic profiling uses big data to target citizens based on their preferences, behaviors, but also social membership and status. In so doing, algorithms externally and autonomously ascribe profiles to citizens based on fragments of data. The algorithms freeze citizens’ identities and exacerbate their differences, thus shaping their reality by affecting the distribution of goods, services, and opportunities available. The PROFILE project address two key issues related to AI: 1) algorithmic profiling increases risks of inequality and discrimination and, 2) algorithmic data-based discrimination takes on different forms than human discrimination, thus casting doubt on the adequateness of existing legal remedies. These issues forms the base for PROFILE’s core research question: Is the legal framework for equality protection in the European Union (EU) adapted to and capable of tackling algorithmic discrimination? I will address the problem of algorithmic discrimination through three central inquiries:  1) How does algorithmic discrimination differ from human discrimination?  2) How do these new forms of technology-driven discrimination disrupt and challenge the anti-discrimination legal framework in place in EU?  3) What regulatory solutions can be proposed within and outside EU anti-discrimination law in order to efficiently remedy algorithmic discrimination?  My ambition is both to advance legal research on AI and human rights and to concretely inform societal and policy responses to the challenge of AI regulation. The proposed project is highly topical in the light of the rapid development and use of AI applications.