Digital dystopia: how algorithms punish the poor

In an exclusive global series, the Guardian lays bare the revolution and the wreckage that is engulfing the welfare state worldwide.

All around the world, from small-town Illinois in the US to Rochdale in England, from Perth, Australia, to Dumka in northern India, a revolution is under way in how governments treat the poor.

You can’t see it happening, and may have heard nothing about it. It’s being planned by engineers and coders behind closed doors, in secure government locations far from public view.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/14/automating-poverty-algorithms-punish-poor

One in three councils using algorithms to make welfare decisions
machine-learning tools being deployed despite evidence they are unreliable
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/15/councils-using-algorithms-make-welfare-decisions-benefits

DWP developing 'welfare robots' to process Universal Credit claims
The move towards a virtual workforce has left some fearing that vulnerable claimants could fall further into poverty
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/universal-credit-claim-robots-dwp-17085038