In December, the US Census proposed changes to how it categorizes disability. If implemented, the changes would have slashed the number of Americans who are counted as disabled, when experts say that disabled people are already undercounted. The Census opened its proposal to public comment; anyone can submit a comment on a federal agency rulemaking on their own. But in this specific case, the people who were most affected by the proposal had more obstacles in the way of giving their input.
A low score may result in rejection of a given medical intervention in cost-benefit analyses; why engage in costly treatments for someone deemed likely to live a shorter life marred by disability? The promise of AI is that automation will make work easier, but what exactly is being made easier? In 2023, a ProPublica investigation revealed that insurance giant Cigna was using an internal algorithm that automatically flagged coverage claims, allowing doctors to sign off on mass denials, which...