Bias Mitigation Methods: Applicability, Legality, and Recommendations for Development

As algorithmic decision-making systems (ADMS) are increasingly deployed across various sectors, the importance of research on fairness in Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to grow. In this paper we highlight a number of significant practical limitations and regulatory compliance issues associated with the application of existing bias mitigation methods to ADMS. We present an example of an algorithmic system used in recruitment to illustrate these limitations. Our analysis of existing methods indicates a pressing need for a change in the approach to the development of new methods. In order to address the limitations, we provide recommendations for key factors to consider in the development of new bias mitigation methods that aim to be effective in real-world scenarios and comply with legal requirements in the European Union, United Kingdom and United States, such as non-discrimination, data protection and sector-specific regulations. Further, we suggest a checklist relating to these recommendations that should be included with the development of new bias mitigation methods.