Apple’s new credit card is under an investigation from financial regulators after a husband complained that the card’s inbuilt algorithms discriminated against her wife.
This incident happened when software developer “David Heinemeier Hansson” complained on the social media platform, Twitter, that the credit line offered by his Apple Card was 20 times higher than that offered to his spouse, even though the two file joint tax returns and he has a worse credit score.
He claimed that Apple is sexist and that it discriminates against people based on gender, putting women in a disadvantageous position. He argued that both are married and have lived together for twenty years and file joint tax returns and yet Apple thinks I am more deserving of credit line than my wife.
Apple’s customer service was efficient and quick to respond and but things went south ways when their customer representative told them that they could do nothing about algorithmic biases, and the issue was out of their reach.
Interestingly the couple wasn’t alone in its complain. Many more customers complained the same as the tweet went viral. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak expressed the same concern saying he gets ten times more credit than her wife. It is cementing the claim of endemic discrimination in Apple’s new credit card.
Wozniak asked government authorities to investigate and uncover the discriminatory algorithm that was responsible. In response to the complaints, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) said it would investigate the card, which is issued by the banking giant Goldman Sachs.
In a press release, Goldman Sachs denied that its algorithms function in this manner. “In all cases, we have not and will not make decisions based on factors like gender,” quoted company spokesperson Andrew Williams.
Algorithmic discrimination is plaguing every facet of society, from health care services to educational services. In the case of Apple, the issue picked momentum because the said complainant had a huge online following.
Featured image: Apple
