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The @AppleCard is such a fucking sexist program. My wife and I filed joint tax returns, live in a community-property state, and have been married for a long time. Yet Appleu2019s black box algorithm thinks I deserve 20x the credit limit she does. No appeals work.
Iu2019m surprised that they even let her apply for a card without the signed approval of her spouse? I mean, can you really trust women with a credit card these days??!
It gets even worse. Even when she pays off her ridiculously low limit in full, the card wonu2019t approve any spending until the next billing period. Women apparently arenu2019t good credit risks even when they pay off the fucking balance in advance and in full.
The customer service experience is infuriating too. Theyu2019re quick to respond, but nobody is authorized to discuss the credit assessment process. No opportunity to present evidence. Just a u201csorry, your wife is deemed to be 1/20th the credit worth you are, check again in 6 months!u201d
I hear that this has turned into a formal internal complaint thatu2019s being investigated. Hopefully a moment to revisit some assumption about black-box algorithms, bias, and customer service! 
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Hilarious how much mansplaining is flowing in this thread. Every single poster questioning my wifeu2019s credit score, a man. Every single defense of Apple blaming GS, a man. Almost like men are over represented in the defense/justification of discrimination that doesnu2019t affect them?
And the best defense of all: THATu2019S JUST HOW THE CREDIT INDUSTRY WORKS. Ehh, okay? How is that anything but the most damning charge upon Appleu2019s pitch with their card? Did the iPhone launch pledging to please carriers and the status quo as its modus operandi? No.
This gets to the crux of how diverse teams make better products. Iu2019d be surprised to learn if the team at Apple working on this wasnu2019t over-represented with men, or at least women who havenu2019t had to worry about credit approval. Easy to go with status quo when it flows for you.
I wasnu2019t even pessimistic to expect this outcome, but here we are: @AppleCard just gave my wife the VIP bump to match my credit limit, but continued to be an utter fucking failure of a customer service experience. Let me explain...
She spoke to two Apple reps. Both very nice, courteous people representing an utterly broken and reprehensible system. The first person was like u201cI donu2019t know why, but I swear weu2019re not discriminating, ITu2019S JUST THE ALGORITHMu201d. I shit you not. u201cITu2019S JUST THE ALGORITHM!u201d.
Second rep went on about how she couldnu2019t actually access the real reasoning (again ITu2019S JUST THE ALGORITHM is implied). But then revealed that my wife really should check her credit score, again implying that it was less than mine, and thatu2019s why. Even named TransUnion to check.
So obviously we both furiously signup for the fucking $25/month credit-check bullshit shakedown that is TransUnion. Maybe someone stole my wifeu2019s identity? Even though weu2019ve verified there was nothing wrong previously. Guess what: HER CREDIT SCORE WAS HIGHER THAN MINE!!!
So letu2019s recap here: Apple offers a credit card that bases its credit assessment on a black-box algorithm that 6 different reps across Apple and GS have no visibility into. Even several layers of management. An internal investigation. ITu2019S JUST THE ALGORITHM!
So nobody understands THE ALGORITHM. Nobody has the power to examine or check THE ALGORITHM. Yet everyone weu2019ve talked to from both Apple and GS are SO SURE that THE ALGORITHM isnu2019t biased and discriminating in any way. Thatu2019s some grade-A management of cognitive dissonance.
Apple has handed the customer experience and their reputation as an inclusive organization over to a biased, sexist algorithm it does not understand, cannot reason with, and is unable to control. When a trillion-dollar company simply accepts the algorithmic overlord like this...
Whatu2019s even worse is how complete and unquestioned the faith of these Apple reps were in the wisdom of THE ALGORITHM. To be point of essentially credit shaming my wife, assuming her score must have been lower than mine, and roping us into a TransUnion shakedown to check.
So yeah, I completely stand by my original charge: @AppleCard is a sexist program. It does not matter what the intent of individual Apple reps are, it matters what THE ALGORITHM theyu2019ve placed their complete faith in does. And what it does is discriminate. This is fucked up.
Itu2019s also fucked up how they chose to raise my wifeu2019s limit without ever addressing the root of the issue. Letu2019s just, essentially, bribe one loud mouth on Twitter, then we donu2019t have to actually examine our faulty faith in THE ALGORITHM.
Now excuse me while I go Kung Fu fighting with the dark patterns that surely guards any attempt to cancel this monthly shakedown subscription.
This is the soft undermining of peopleu2019s sense of self. The algorithm might discriminate out of biased historical training data, faulty but uncorrectable inputs, programming errors, or malicious intent. Youu2019ll never be able to know. https://twitter.com/kristyt/status/1192956563339657216">https://twitter.com/kristyt/s...
That THE ALGORITHM often ends up being a biased, discriminating mess isnu2019t exactly novel ground either. Hereu2019s Amazon shuttering an algorithm for hiring that systemically discriminated against women. https://slate.com/business/2018/10/amazon-artificial-intelligence-hiring-discrimination-women.html">https://slate.com/business/...
