ACLU of New Jersey Launches Automated Injustice Project to Investigate Effect of Government Algorithms

The ACLU of New Jersey today launched the Automated Injustice Project to investigate how the state government’s use of artificial intelligence, algorithms, and automated decision systems affect the rights of all New Jerseyans. Through the general study of automated decision systems and their use, algorithms have been shown to perpetuate and worsen racial inequity, deprive people of the ability to contest unfair outcomes, and fundamentally change how people interact with the government.

“In launching the Automated Injustice Project, we're seeking to bring government algorithms to light, explore how New Jerseyans are impacted by them, advocate for comprehensive oversight of their use, and, at times, question whether they should be used at all,” said ACLU-NJ Skadden Fellow Dillon Reisman. “Only through accountability and transparency of current tools can New Jerseyans begin to advocate for fairer and more just systems.”

Each of the systems being investigated encompasses different technologies and represents the wide variety of algorithms used by the New Jersey government, including:

• Facial recognition
• Medicaid budgeting
• Pretrial risk assessments
• Domestic violence risk assessments

Over the next four weeks, the ACLU of New Jersey will release a multimedia series explaining the Automated Injustice Project’s findings so far. Subscribe to the series here.