# One definition of algorithmic fairness: statistical parity

DevFeed: [One definition of algorithmic fairness: statistical parity](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/one-definition-of-algorithmic-fairness-statistical-parity-40389.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.jeremykun.com/2015/10/19/one-definition-of-algorithmic-fairness-statistical-parity/>)

Published: 2015-10-19T09:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Jeremy Kun](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/jeremy-kun.md>)

Topics: [Algorithms](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/algorithms.md>), [Algorithms, Complexity](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/algorithms-complexity.md>)

Tags: [algorithm](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/algorithm.md>), [algorithms](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/algorithms.md>), [bias](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bias.md>), [conditional-probability](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/conditional-probability.md>), [discrimination](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/discrimination.md>), [fairness](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/fairness.md>), [machine-learning](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/machine-learning.md>), [mathematics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mathematics.md>), [programming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/programming.md>), [python](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python.md>), [research](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/research.md>), [reverse-tokenism](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/reverse-tokenism.md>), [self-fulfilling-prophecy](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/self-fulfilling-prophecy.md>), [statistics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/statistics.md>)

## AI overview

The article examines statistical parity as one mathematical definition of algorithmic fairness. It explains the protected-group and population model, defines bias as the difference in positive classification rates between the complement and the protected group, and discusses the definition's intuitive basis and limitations.

## Source excerpt

If you haven't read the first post on fairness, I suggest you go back and read it because it motivates why we're talking about fairness for algorithms in the first place. In this post I'll describe one of the existing mathematical definitions of "fairness," its origin, and discuss its strengths and shortcomings. Before jumping in I should remark that nobody has found a definition which is widely agreed as a good definition of fairness in the same way we have for, say, the security of a random number generator.