Blog Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation Blog

Public trust and transparency

Posted by: Lara Macdonald and Mark Durkee, Posted on: 1 December 2020 - Categories: Algorithms, Bias, Trust

The CDEI believes that the government should introduce a mandatory transparency obligation on all public sector organisations using algorithms that have a significant influence on significant decisions affecting individuals. Our report published last week suggests definitions for these terms. But whilst a transparent approach is vital to building a trustworthy environment, we should not assume that greater transparency from public sector organisations will inevitably lead to greater trust in the public sector.