El impacto dispar ocurre cuando un proceso de decisión produce resultados desproporcionadamente perjudiciales o beneficiosos para distintos subgrupos de población, incluso sin usar explícitamente atributos protegidos. En sistemas algorítmicos, se evalúa examinando disparidades de resultados y su relación con características sensibles o legalmente protegidas.
Making decisions about people that impact different population subgroups disproportionately. This usually refers to situations where an algorithmic decision-making process harms or benefits some subgroups more than others. For example, suppose an algorithm that determines a Lilliputian's eligibility for a miniature-home loan is more likely to classify them as "ineligible" if their mailing address contains a certain postal code. If Big-Endian Lilliputians are more likely to have mailing addresses with this postal code than Little-Endian Lilliputians, then this algorithm may result in disparate impact. Contrast with disparate treatment, which focuses on disparities that result when subgroup characteristics are explicit inputs to an algorithmic decision-making process.