The New York Times published a story on Sunday that delved deep into New York state penitentiaries, documenting a number of racial disparities in how inmates are disciplined and awarded parole. On Monday, in response to The Times expose, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), ordered an investigation into racial bias in the state’s prisons.

Cuomo called The Times report “disturbing,” and said in a statement: “I am directing the state inspector general to investigate the allegations of racial disparities in discipline in state prisons and to recommend appropriate reforms for immediate implementation.” He also said he plans on nominating a number of minority candidates to New York’s Parole Board.

“I will be advancing new appointments to the Senate this upcoming session to ensure the state’s Parole Board is reflective of the population it serves,” he said. Only one of the 13 current board members is black; none are Latino, though the state prison population is about three-fourths black or Latino. Cuomo’s nominations would need to be approved by the State Senate, which is comprised of 31 Republicans and 31 Democrats.

The Times report was based on data from 2015, focusing on 60,000 disciplinary cases, and on interviews with inmates across the state. Most of the racial disparities documented took place in upstate prisons, where officers, a vast majority of whom are white, guard prison populations that are majority-black or Latino.

One instance of racial bias documented in The Times report happened at Clinton Correctional Facility, where only one of the 998 guards is black. The report found that black inmates were four times as likely as white inmates to be sent to solitary confinement. In addition, black inmates were held in isolation for 35 more days on average than whites. Here are some other findings from the report:

• A number of black inmates reported guards referring to them by racial slurs, like “porch monkey,” and “spear chucker.”
• Among inmates under 25 years old, blacks received far more disciplinary citations than whites, at 185 to 14 respectively.
• Over the past several years, white inmates were more likely than black or Latino inmates to be granted parole. Less than one in six black or Latino inmates were released on parole after their first hearing, compared to one in four white inmates.

The report also illustrated the discrimination black guards who work in prisons staffed with a majority of white officers experienced. One case from the early 2000s focused on a black officer at Elmira Correctional Facility named Curtis Brown. An investigation found that white guards wrote “token” on Brown’s locker.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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People trust math and data. Unlike the ambiguous, subjective nature of political debate or many other fields, math presents an objective truth. But should we trust in math with blind faith? Can a math-based system, a data-collecting mechanism unhinged from human error and discrepancy be fully trusted?

These are just a few of the questions that were addressed and discussed during a recent panel at New America, a think tank in Washington D.C. Algorithms–data processing formulas carried out by computer systems–can have hidden consequences and their potential for solving some of society’s deepest issues merits a closer look.

Why are we talking about algorithms now?

Cathy O’Neil’s new book, “Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy,” was the launchpad for algorithm discussion. O’Neil called math “beautiful, clear, and true,” but added that “there is no such thing as objectivity in algorithms.”

O’Neil said that algorithms require two things, one of which is inherently biased: loads of data points, and a “definition of success.” Whoever builds an algorithm, O’Neil said, brings their own definition of success to that model, and as an extension, the model’s conclusions will carry a result according to the technician’s definition of success. “Algorithms are not inherently fair,” said O’Neil, who earned a Ph.D. in math from Harvard and was an assistant professor at Barnard College. “The person building the model is in charge of the definition of success.”

To illustrate this point, O’Neil took the audience to her home kitchen. Her algorithm for cooking dinner for her children involves data factors such as time, ingredients, etc. Her definition of success: “Having my kids eat vegetables,” she said. But if the same data points were modeled after her son’s definition of success: “eating a lot of Nutella,” the outcome would be quite different.

Our world is awash in algorithms. From teacher evaluations to Amazon’s check-out process, society’s increasing reliance on computer systems to translate data points and solve problems like inequality, criminal justice, and surveillance. And while these systems are based on objective math, the outcome is not always ideal.

How do algorithms  affect our daily lives?

For Rachel Levinson-Waldman, an expert on surveillance technology and national security issues, who was also on the New America panel, mass surveillance relies on algorithms that are deeply opaque, mammoth in scale, and potentially damaging to certain groups of people. In mass surveillance algorithmic models, damage can be done if “you find yourself in a group that is more likely to be targeted with surveillance,” she said, mentioning people of color or Muslims in particular.

Levinson-Waldman echoed a sentiment shared throughout the panel. If one’s definition of success is turning a profit, which she said happens sometimes in the private security field, their algorithm will be based on “skewed incentives.” She said: “If you think the purpose of something is to make money, you’ll do something very different than if the purpose is to help people.”

Not every panelist on hand at New America agreed. Daniel Castro, vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said that assuming an algorithm is to blame for perpetuating a social ill shifts focus from what is actually causing the social ill. Blaming faulty algorithms for societal issues “distracts us from going after real solutions,” Castro said.

What can be done to improve algorithms, to make sure they function more fairly? It might look like “some kind of regulation oversight or audit mechanism that would check whether an algorithm is being used in a discriminatory way,” said K. Sabeel Rahman, a panelist at the event and an assistant professor of law at Brooklyn Law School.

O’Neil insisted her book was meant to start a conversation around algorithms, to raise questions, not offer solutions. And while the panel spent a good deal of time expressing their concerns with algorithms, “I think algorithms are potentially wonderful,” O’Neil said.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Algorithms: How Blind Faith in Math and Data Can Exacerbate Social Ills appeared first on Law Street.

The United States mandates education for its children and provides public access to that education. When a child’s formal education begins, however, depends on several factors, including the state, the child, and the wishes of the child’s parents. But when exactly we should begin providing that education is up for debate. Read on to learn about the concept of universal pre-school, and the arguments for and against it.

What’s the current status of Preschool in the U.S.?

On March 4, 2014 President Obama announced his intention to allocate $750 million for the foundation of universal, federally funded pre-school in the United States. These funds would guarantee that Pre-K would be available, but not mandatory, for all young Americans, and some research has shown that a pre-school education creates better students and more productive citizens later in life. The concept of universal pre-school is nothing new; several states and cities including New Jersey, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Boston, and Tulsa have had various forms of universal Pre-K programs since the middle and late 1990s. However, many oppose these measures, saying that a pre-school education does not guarantee success for a child, making the taxpayer investment simply not worth the risk. While there are numerous studies indicating the success rates of pre-school educated children, these reports are disputed, and plenty of other reports exist that argue pre-school does not positively affect a student’s academic success later in their education. It remains to be seen whether the President will be able to garner enough support, and funds, for this educational endeavor.

What are the arguments for Universal Pre-school?

Supporters of universal pre-school highlight the long list of rewards students can reap from a Pre-K education, while arguing that future returns, as well as the influx of former stay-at-home parents into the workforce, will actually improve the economy now and in the future. Advocates point out a wide array of benefits that can stem from obtaining a Pre-K education. These include higher test scores, better emotional development, higher high school graduation rates, lower poverty rates, and the end of racial socio-economic disparity.

The jump start on learning for pre-schoolers allows them to enter Kindergarten with some pre-existing content knowledge and experience in working in a classroom setting with their peers. The end result of these benefits, supporters argue, is that these students will achieve a higher level of education, get better jobs, and contribute to the end of poverty and race-based economic gaps. Privately-owned pre-schools, while maintaining high standards, are expensive and thus seem to cater to middle and upper class families. Without access to Pre-K due to economic restrictions, many argue that children of low-income families are locked into a cycle of poverty.

The problem that remains, however, is how the government and taxpayers will pay for this type of program. Political advocates have offered popular ways to pay for universal pre-school; New York City’s Mayor De Blasio plans to tax New York’s wealthiest residents to pay for his Pre-K program, while President Obama has suggested increasing the tax on cigarettes from $1.01 to $1.95. Advocates argue that these strategies would allow the government to fund a universal Pre-K program without significant impact on the taxes of average Americans. Additionally, supporters point out the economic benefits of universal pre-school, indicating it will pay for itself and more over time.

What are the arguments against Universal Pre-school?

Opponents argue that universal Pre-K would be detrimental to quality private pre-schools. Opponents dispute the same reports that link the myriad of benefits to a pre-school education, using other reports to argue that students with and without this early start earn similar test scores, high school graduation rates, and career achievement. One of the best sources of support for this argument, opponents claim, is the failure of current federal pre-school programs such as Head Start.

Initiated in 1965 as part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society,” Head Start offers low-income families access to pre-school for their children. Within the last decade, educational professionals have been united in their acknowledgement that Head Start fails to achieve its goals of inequality-gap reduction. Advocates claim this is due to a lack of funding and the low quality of the Pre-K offered under Head Start (the pre-school teachers are not required to have a teaching degree), whereas modern universal pre-school proposals call for high-quality education with highly qualified teachers. Opponents, however, say this is evidence that federally-funded Pre-K programs fail to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged students.

Opponents argue the only way to ensure a quality pre-school education is to maintain competition in the Pre-K market, thus prompting privately-owned pre-schools to maintain high standards. Offering free, federally-funded pre-schools could potentially undercut successful private pre-schools and lower the overall standards of a Pre-K education in the United States. With roughly 45 percent of American children already enrolled in pre-school, opponents feel that the introduction of a universal pre-school program would only have negative effects for students, parents, and society.

Conclusion

Educational support is one of the most important things that our government provides for its citizens. We have accepted that young people should be in school, but how young is too young to start? And what are the benefits of providing preschool rather than allowing parents and students to make those choices? These are all intrinsic components of the debate surrounding universally-funded preschool in the United States, and while President Obama has taken concrete action on the subject, the laws are developing.

Resources

Primary

U.S. Department of Education: Serving Pre-School Children Through Title I

Administration for Children & Families: Federal Office of Head Start

Additional

Think Progress: Georgia’s Universal Preschool Program Significantly Improves Children’s Skills

Huffington Post: Do Right By Our Children: Enact Universal Pre-K

National Institute for Early Education Research: The Universal vs. Targeted Debate: Should the United States Have Preschool For All?

U.S. News & World Report: Why the GOP Should Get On Board With Preschool

Nation: How Universal Pre-K Could Redistribute Wealth–Right Here, Right Now

National Affairs: The Dubious Promise of Universal Preschool

Reason Foundation: The Case Against Universal Preschool in California

Heritage Foundation; Universal Preschool’s Empty Promises

Brookings: New Evidence Raises Doubts on Obama’s Preschool For All

ABC: Universal Pre-K: ‘This Whole Thing is a Scam’

Breitbart: Obama Budget Proposal Pushes for $750 Million for Universal Preschool

Huffington Post: Elected Officials Embrace Preschool, But Funding is the Catch

Scholastic: Universal Preschool: Is it Necessary?

The White House: Fact Sheet President Obama’s Plan For Early Education For All Americans

Joseph Palmisano

Joseph Palmisano is a graduate of The College of New Jersey with a degree in History and Education. He has a background in historical preservation, public education, freelance writing, and business. While currently employed as an insurance underwriter, he maintains an interest in environmental and educational reform. Contact Joseph at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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