From deciding whether or not a tax return should trigger an audit, to determining which refugee claimants will be given status in Canada, administrative officials around the country make thousands of decisions every day that fundamentally affect the lives of Canadians. But these officials – and all Canadians – are entering an era of “artificial administration”, where human decision-making may be displaced or replaced by sophisticated information technology in the form of predictive analytics and deep learning. This begs the question: when is it appropriate for administrative officials to rely on machines in making decisions that affect Canadians?
A Faculty member at the Centre for Law, Technology and Society, Dr. Paul Daly is the University Research Chair in Administrative Law and Governance and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section. Building on his expertise in administrative law and his experience as a data-analytics entrepreneur, Dr. Daly’s project will be among the first research initiatives in Canada to delve into the vitally important issue of “artificial administration.”
Working from an interdisciplinary perspective that will integrate insights from computer science, digital humanities, engineering, law and public policy, this research project will explore the role information technology can play in contemporary public administration. An innovative new framework for the use of “artificial administrative” will be generated from the existing literature on the nature of the sophisticated deep-learning techniques, the norms of administrative law and administrative justice and accountability mechanisms for the exercise of public power. Ultimately, this project will aim to develop a set of principles for the effective and responsible use of “artificial administration” in government.
You can read more details about this project on Dr. Daly’s post on Administrative Law Matters.
Congratulations to Dr. Daly!