Lord Lucas (Con)

My Lords, my Amendment 115 would similarly act in that way by making automated decision-making processes explain themselves to the people affected by them. This would be a much better way of controlling the quality of what is going on with automated decision-making than restricting that sort of information to professionals—to people who are anyway overworked and have a lot of other things to do. There is no one more interested in the decision of an automated process than the person about whom it is being made. If we are to trust these systems then their ability, which is way beyond the human ability, to have the time to explain why they took the decision they did—which, if the machine is any good, it knows and can easily set out—is surely the way to generate trust: you can absolutely see what decision has been made and why, and you can respond to it. This would, beyond anything else, produce a much better system for our young people when they apply for their first job. My daughter’s friends in that position are getting into the hundreds of unexplained rejections. This is not a good way to treat young people. It does not help them to improve and understand what is going on. I completely understand why firms do not explain; they have so many applications that they just do not have the time or the personnel to sit down and write a response—but that does not apply to an automated decision-making machine. It could produce a much better situation when it comes to hiring. As I said, my principal concern, to echo that of the noble Viscount, is that it would give us sight of the decisions that have been taken and why. If it becomes evident that they are taken well and for good reasons, we shall learn to trust them. If it becomes evident that they really are not fair or understandable, we shall be in a position to demand changes.