Some predictive systems do not merely predict, but their predictions shape and steer the world towards certain outcomes rather than others; they are performative. When predictive systems are performative, their development and deployment raises urgent ethical challenges and may place novel responsibilities on developers, deployers, regulators and policy-makers. While FAccT and other related communities have focused considerable attention on ethically significant problems regarding bias, fairness…
Read moreSome predictive systems do not merely predict, but their predictions shape and steer the world towards certain outcomes rather than others; they are performative. When predictive systems are performative, their development and deployment raises urgent ethical challenges and may place novel responsibilities on developers, deployers, regulators and policy-makers. While FAccT and other related communities have focused considerable attention on ethically significant problems regarding bias, fairness, discrimination, and others, little attention has been paid so far to the challenges raised by performative prediction. This paper details this gap in existing work, provides a snapshot of ongoing work across computer science and philosophy to point to areas where fruitful connections may be established, and issues a community-wide call for action and research to investigate and manage performative prediction and the new challenges it harbors.
