Social Responsibility of Algorithms: An Overview

Should we be concerned by the massive use of devices and algorithms which automatically handle an increasing number of everyday activities within our societies? This chapter makes a short overview of the scientific investigation around this topic, showing that the development, existence and use of such autonomous artefacts are much older than the recent interest in machine learning monopolised artificial intelligence. We then categorise the impact of using such artefacts to the whole process of data collection, structuring, manipulation as well as in recommendation and decision making. The suggested framework allows to identify a number of challenges for the whole community of decision analysts, both researchers and practitioners.