Syriusz
Syriusz
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Syriusz (System Informatyczny Rynku Pracy i Usług Społecznych) was an IT system used by Poland's public employment service Publiczne Służby Zatrudnienia (PSZ) that was upgraded in 2014 to incorporate a profiling mechanism that aimed to provide more personalised support for unemployed workers.
The system was also intended to reduce inefficiencies and deliver better value for money at 343 job centres across the country.
Based on points assigned during in-person registration, a survey and interview, the system placed unemployed workers into three categories. Each category determined the type of assistance they are entitled to, such as a job placement, vocational training or apprenticeship.
System 🤖
System 🤖
Syriusz 🔗
Operator: Publiczne Służby Zatrudnienia (PSZ)
Developer: Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy
Country: Poland
Sector: Govt - employment
Purpose: Assess unemployed worker support needs
Technology: Prediction algorithm
Issue: Appropriateness/need; Bias/discrimination - age, gender, disability; Effectiveness/value; Fairness; Privacy
Transparency and accountability 🙈
Transparency and accountability 🙈
Poland's Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy and PSZ provided little information to job seekers or to third-party experts about how the profiling system worked, and refused to disclose important details such as the survey and scoring mechanism.
Furthermore, users had no ability to appeal decisions being made by the system and/or its human handlers.
Eventually, the ministry was forced to disclose the list of survey questions and the scoring mechanism after a lengthy, disputed Freedom of Information request submitted by the Panoptykon Foundation that ended up in court.
Risks and harms 🛑
Risks and harms 🛑
Syriusz was seen to suffer from a number of limitations and exposure to known risks that resulted in it being seen as poor value, ineffective, intrusive, unfair, discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Incidents and issues 🔥
Incidents and issues 🔥
April 2019. Poland's government announced plans to scrap the unemployed worker profiling system
December 2018. Poland’s Constitutional Court ruled that the system was a breach of the Polish constitution on the basis that the scope of data used by it should have been set out in the legal act adopted by parliament, not decided by the government, and that it should be closed by the end of 2019.
2018. A review by Poland's Supreme Audit Office (Najwyższa Izba Kontroli) found the system to be ineffective and potentially discriminatory against women, the disabled and others.
October 2015. Polish civil rights NGO Panoptykon Foundation released a report detailing the system's discriminatory nature and lack of transparency.
Research, advocacy 🧮
Research, advocacy 🧮
Kuziemski M., Misuraca G. (2020). AI governance in the public sector: Three tales from the frontiers of automated decision-making in democratic settings
Sztandar-Sztanderska K., Zielenska M. (2020). What Makes an Ideal Unemployed Person? Values and Norms Encapsulated in a Computerized Profiling Tool
Niklas J. (2018). Profiling the unemployed
Niklas J. (2017). Can an algorithm hurt? Polish experiences with profiling of the unemployed
Niklas J. (2015). Profiling the Unemployed in Poland: Social and Political Implications of Algorithmic Decision Making
Panoptykon Foundation (2015/2016). Profiling the Unemployed in Poland
Page info
Type: System
Published: February 2023
Last updated: August 2024
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