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An algorithmic impact assessment (AIA) is a structured review, done before and during deployment, that identifies who an automated or AI system could affect, what harms it could cause, and what safeguards will reduce them.
It matters because it forces organizations to document risks and decisions in advance, and rules such as Canada's Directive on Automated Decision-Making and the EU AI Act now require versions of it.
An AIA borrows from environmental and privacy impact assessments: think through consequences before acting, write them down, and commit to mitigations. A good assessment usually covers the system's purpose and legal basis; the decision it supports and how much it replaces human judgement; data sources and their quality; affected groups, especially vulnerable ones; foreseeable harms such as discrimination, error, privacy loss or exclusion; oversight, explanation and appeal routes; and a plan for monitoring and review. Canada offers the best-known government example. Its Directive on Automated Decision-Making, in force since 2019, requires federal institutions to complete an Algorithmic Impact Assessment before using automated decision systems. The AIA is an online questionnaire with risk questions and mitigation questions. The score places the system at one of four impact levels, from little to very high impact, and each level triggers specific requirements, such as peer review, notice to affected people, human intervention in decisions and explanation. Completed assessments are published on the government's open data portal. The EU AI Act adds a fundamental rights impact assessment (FRIA) under Article 27. It applies to deployers of high-risk systems that are public bodies or private entities providing public services, and to deployers of certain systems such as credit scoring and life and health insurance pricing. The FRIA describes how and how often the system is used, who is affected, the specific risks, human oversight measures and what happens if risks materialise, and the deployer notifies the market surveillance authority. It complements, rather than replaces, a data protection impact assessment under the GDPR. A common misconception is that an AIA is a one-time compliance form. Its value comes from changing design decisions and from being revisited when the system, data or context changes.
Les dommages catastrophiques et quotidiens causés par l’IA dépendent tous deux de la personne qui comprend les risques et qui peut agir.
Les connaissances du public et des professionnels déterminent si une politique de sécurité forte est politiquement possible.
Des explications claires réduisent la capture par le battage médiatique, les relations publiques en laboratoire et le théâtre d'éthique vague.
Impact assessments are becoming a standard part of AI governance rather than an optional ethics exercise. As EU AI Act obligations for high-risk systems take effect, organizations will need repeatable templates, and regulators may publish further guidance on what a sufficient FRIA contains. Standards such as ISO/IEC 42005 may help align practice across countries. The open questions are quality and independence: assessments written by the same team that wants to deploy a system can become box-ticking. Publication of assessments, meaningful public consultation and external review are the mechanisms most likely to keep them honest, but how widely they will be adopted is still uncertain.
A Canadian federal department planning to use a model to triage visa applications completes the government's online AIA questionnaire, receives an impact level, and must then arrange peer review and human involvement in final decisions as that level requires.
A regional bank in the EU deploying a high-risk credit scoring system prepares a fundamental rights impact assessment describing affected applicant groups, risks of discrimination, human oversight arrangements and how complaints will be handled.
A city housing agency considering a tenant risk-scoring tool runs a public consultation as part of its assessment, and decides to drop eviction history as an input after advocates show it tracks past discrimination.
A hospital adopting a sepsis alert model updates its impact assessment after a year of use, adding monitoring of false alarm rates across wards and patient groups.
Traiter le risque existentiel comme de la science-fiction alors que les capacités s’accroissent.
Confondre sécurité des produits de surface et alignement sous haute autonomie.
Laisser le public non anglophone et non expert avec uniquement des sources de mauvaise qualité.
Séparez les dommages causés aux produits, leur mauvaise utilisation et les risques de perte de contrôle/désalignement.
Demandez quelles preuves pourraient changer votre point de vue sur les délais et la gravité.
Préférez les sources primaires et les évaluations concrètes aux allégations marketing.
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An algorithmic impact assessment (AIA) is a structured review, done before and during deployment, that identifies who an automated or AI system could affect, what harms it could cause, and what safeguards will reduce them. It matters because it forces organizations to document risks and decisions in advance, and rules such as Canada's Directive on Automated Decision-Making and the EU AI Act now require versions of it.
An AIA is a structured review of affected people, foreseeable harms and mitigations, done in advance and revisited over time.
AIAs borrow from environmental and privacy impact assessments: anticipate consequences, document them and commit to mitigations.
The score places the system in one of four impact levels, each with requirements such as peer review, notice and human intervention.
Completed Canadian AIAs are published on the open government data portal, supporting transparency.
Article 27 of the AI Act covers the FRIA for certain deployers of high-risk systems.
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