Technology

California uses algorithms to predict whether incarcerated people will commit crimes again. It has used predictive technology to deny 600,000 people unemployment benefits. Nonetheless, state administrators have concluded that not a single agency uses high-risk forms of automated decisionmaking technology.

That’s according to a report the California Department of Technology provided to CalMatters after surveying nearly 200 state entities. The agencies are required by legislation signed into law in 2023 to report annually if they use high-risk automated systems that can make decisions about people’s lives. “High-risk” means any system that can assist or replace human decisionmakers when it comes to encounters with the criminal justice system or whether people get access to housing, education, employment, credit and health care.

The California Department of Technology doesn’t know which algorithms state agencies use today and only reported what agencies told them, state Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Porat told CalMatters. When asked if the employment or corrections department algorithms qualify, Porat said it’s up to agencies to interpret the law.

“I only know what they report back up to us, because even if they have the contract… we don’t know how or if they’re using it, so we rely on those departments to accurately report that information up,” he said.