&gt; unbiased algorithms often discover that things we previously attributed to bias were actually unbiased predictors<p>Absolutely. Or the exact opposite: that the algorithms simply reflect results <i>caused</i> by bias, a <i>far</i> more likely relationship given what we know of history.<p>The reason we&#x27;re against this is not because we think our biases are not supported by real data; we know that some of them most certainly are. But we also know that a snapshot of current society is often little more than a reflection of social forces that has made the society what it is at this particular point in time, and treating them as immutable (or simply placing faith in their persistence) is nothing more than a political policy that helps perpetuate them. Treating past correlations as future predictors in a dynamic system such as society is programming conservatism into your algorithm. Acting on them is a political policy which strives to maintain the status quo -- there&#x27;s nothing wrong about it per se, if that&#x27;s what you want, but we need to be aware of this fact. Alternatively, we could program the algorithms to predict or even assist with social change.<p>The worst thing we can do is <i>accidentally</i> program politics into algorithms, and then fall for our own ruse and start believing that the algorithms are apolitical. That takes away our agency in making political choices.