NEW YORK–Is the algorithm used in approving the new Apple Card biased against women?
The New York State Department of Financial Services announced it is investigating that issue following statements made on Twitter by software developer David Heinemeier Hansson that even though his spouse, Jamie Hansson, has a better credit score and other factors in her favor, her application for a credit line increase had been denied while Apple has said he deserves “20x the credit limit she does.”
Also suggesting there may be bias at work: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
The state regulator said it plans to investigate the algorithm used by Apple Card to determine the creditworthiness of applicants. The card is issued by New York-based Goldman Sachs.
‘Troubled’ By Reports
“Any algorithm that intentionally or not results in discriminatory treatment of women or any other protected class violates New York law,” an agency spokeswoman told the New York Times. “DFS is troubled to learn of potential discriminatory treatment in regard to credit limit decisions reportedly made by an algorithm of Apple Card, issued by Goldman Sachs, and the Department will be conducting an investigation to determine whether New York law was violated and ensure all consumers are treated equally regardless of sex.”
Both Apple and Goldman Sachs declined comment.
After Hansson posted his tweet, Wozniak responded, “The same thing happened to us. I got 10x the credit limit. We have no separate bank or credit card accounts or any separate assets. Hard to get to a human for a correction though. It’s big tech in 2019.”
Hansson later tweeted that the Apple Card’s customer service representatives told his wife that they were not authorized to discuss the credit assessment process, according to the Times, adding Hansson said that customer service employees were unable to explain why the algorithm had designated her to be less creditworthy but had assured his wife that the bank was not discriminating against women.”
Wife Gets ‘VIP Bump’
One day after his initial Tweet, Hansson, who said he has heard from other women making similar allegations, said his wife received a “VIP bump” to match his credit limit.
In a separate interview with Bloomberg, Wozniak said, “These sorts of unfairnesses bother me and go against the principle of truth. We don’t have transparency on how these companies set these things up and operate,” Wozniak said in an interview on Sunday. “Our government isn’t strong enough on the issues of regulation. Consumers can only be represented by the government because the big corporations only represent themselves.”