Discrimination is the act of treating someone unfairly or less favorably because of their group, identity, or characteristics. collinsdictionary.com +1
According to the Collins Dictionary, it’s “the practice of treating one person or group of people less fairly … than other people or groups.” collinsdictionary.com
It can also mean “the ability to notice and understand the difference between things,” though in most social contexts it means unfair treatment. collinsdictionary.com
In an Algorithmic / AI Context
Algorithmic discrimination (or “automated discrimination”) happens when a computer system (or AI) produces unfair outcomes that disadvantage a person or group based on characteristics like race, gender, age, etc. Law Insider
This is a kind of “disparate impact”: the algorithm may treat different groups in systematically different ways, even if that was not explicitly programmed. It’s related to algorithmic bias, which describes a broader set of systematic errors or unfairness in an algorithm. Wikipedia +1
Not all bias is “discrimination” legally: discrimination is narrower — typically involves protected groups or characteristics and may be subject to legal or ethical scrutiny
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