Standard launched to help cities open up about algorithms

A new open-source standard aims to make it easier for cities to be transparent about how they use algorithms.

The Algorithmic Transparency Standard was developed by Eurocities’ Digital Forum Lab in collaboration with nine cities, including Barcelona, Bologna, Brussels, Eindhoven, Mannheim, Rotterdam and Sofia. It is based on work done by Amsterdam and Helsinki, which were the first to launch algorithm registers in September 2020.

The data schema, which sets common guidelines on the information to be collected for algorithm registers, comes as a growing number of cities pledge to provide more information for residents.

According to Eurocities, most cities use only simple algorithms today, rather than advanced artificial intelligence (AI). However, they need to prepare for legislative shifts, technology advances and residents’ expectations.

The European Union’s forthcoming Artificial Intelligence Act will create a common regulatory framework for EU countries. It assigns risk levels to AI, prohibiting some applications and establishing a searchable public database of high-risk AI. In addition, as more algorithms are deployed, residents and others need to be aware of these systems and their potential impact.

Unpacking algorithms

Eurocities’ tool builds on Amsterdam’s algorithm register and Helsinki’s AI register. A data expert worked alongside the nine participating cities to test and validate the content and functionality of the schema.

It incorporates a range of categories such as the type and purpose of an algorithm, the department using the algorithm, the geographical area and domain it relates to and a risk category. It also includes details on the data source and training data, any bias and mitigation, and human oversight.

The use of standardised categories across cities aims to make information easier to understand and compare.

“Artificial intelligence can be an important enabler to improve public services and support policy making. However, its use also brings ethical concerns,” said André Sobczak, Secretary General, Eurocities. “The efforts undertaken by these cities aim to set a standard for the transparent and ethical use of algorithms while their use is still in its relative infancy across city administrations in Europe. In this way they seek to offer both a safeguard for people whose data may be used by algorithms, and have created a validated model that other cities can use straight away, without having to invest further resources themselves.”

Frontrunners have highlighted some of the challenges to delivering on algorithm transparency pledges, such as the staff time commitment required, defining what counts as an algorithm, rooting out all the applications already being used, and restrictive vendor confidentiality clauses.

Lodewijk Noordzij, Digital Policy Advisor at Eurocities, told Cities Today the schema also provides an important foundation for algorithm governance to help cities begin to think through issues such as which algorithms to prioritise, keeping information up to date, and drafting effective contracts for suppliers.

“Even if you agree upon what you need to disclose in the register, then this is basically only the first step,” he said. “The algorithm register data schema allows you to more tangibly think about how to organise governance processes as well.

“It also really gives you a tangible solution to speak both with the business and the technical teams in the city that have different roles in implementing, developing and managing algorithms and need to be around the same table.”

Preparing the groundwork

Barcelona is preparing to launch an algorithm register this year, in line with its artificial intelligence strategy.

Paula Boet Serrano, digital rights project manager for Barcelona City Council, said: “We don’t just want to publish things, we want to make sure that what we publish makes sense for people and that we’ve gone through the internal workings to make sure that we are publishing information that is good quality.”

The city recently implemented an internal protocol that defines mandatory safeguard mechanisms for each stage of the development of an algorithmic system.

Barcelona will prioritise publishing information about algorithms that have the highest impact – this takes into account residents’ perceptions and where algorithmic systems are applied, as much as their technical workings.

For example, Barcelona uses a natural language processing tool in social services to support – but not automate – social workers’ decision-making.

“It doesn’t actually have a high impact because it’s not interacting directly with citizens,” said Serrano. “But since it’s in a sensitive area, people can think that it does have a high impact. We want to create trust by explaining that it’s there and being transparent.”

Brussels is committed to transparency about algorithms and now considering next steps.

“It might be an algorithm register, it might be something else,” said Tanguy De Lestre, Smart City and Innovation Officer at Brussels Region Informatics Centre (BRIC), the IT agency for the Brussels Capital Region.

He said the collaborative work with Eurocities was useful: “It’s interesting to be able to share how things are being done and set up. In Brussels we are not very advanced yet in terms of using AI in public administrations so we can learn from the others.”

The algorithm standard will be used by the data officer for the region, De Lestre added.

In 2021, Brussels Capital Region and two Brussels universities launched the FARI institute for AI using EU pandemic recovery funds. Its roadmap for the deployment of AI in the region includes exploring the creation of a region-wide algorithm register.

Tools

Noordzij said: “Algorithm registers are only one of the possible tools to support responsible use of AI. During [our] expo side event in Barcelona, it became clear that cities are also organising community groups to share good practices, they’re looking to hire new experts and work on training and new curriculums for their own officials to make sure the prerequisites and support for responsible uses are also in place.”

He said developing guidelines to protect digital rights, such as the framework created by the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, and contract clauses for procurement is also key.

The schema was developed with European cities in mind, but could be used by any municipality or even private sector companies.