Black Box Ethics: How Algorithmic Decision-Making is Changing How We View Society and People: Advocating for the Right for Explanation and the Right to be Forgotten in Canada

There is a growing body of evidence indicating that the algorithms informing automated decision-making systems are influenced by the fallible humans and societies who develop them. This creates a new reality in which biases are potentially just as prevalent in algorithm-made decisions as in human-made decisions. This reality has consequences for both how people see - and are seen - in the world. This article will examine some of the ethical issues surrounding automated decision-making systems and the algorithms behind them. Attention will be paid to how these algorithms affect not only the realities they purport to display but also what the data collected about and from individuals means to. On this point, the article will examine and support aspects that could be included in a framework for data ethics. Given the rapid development of automated decision-making, it is an appropriate time to assess the extent to which our reality is undermined or altered by the use of algorithmic decision-making systems in our society. To this end, in this article the Right to Explanation and Right to be Forgotten will be introduced as key policies that work to protect us from these altered realities.