Economy-on-demand and the fairness of algorithms

Abstract

Algorithms are the key instrument for the economy-on-demand using platforms for its clients, workers and self-employed. An effective legal enforcement must not be limited to the control of the outcome of the algorithm but should also focus on the algorithm itself. This article assesses the present capacities of computer science to control and certify rule-based and data-centric (machine learning) algorithms. It discusses the legal instruments for the control of algorithms and their enforcement and institutional pre-conditions. It favours a digital agency that concentrates expertise and bureaucracy for the certification and official calibration of algorithms and promotes an international approach to the regulation of legal standards.