This Article examines the matrix of vulnerabilities that low-income people face as a result of the collection and aggregation of big data and the application of predictive analytics. On the one hand, big data systems could reverse growing economic inequality by expanding access to opportunities...

We live in a datafied society in which a vast network of public and private entities collect and combine our personal data. Algorithms sort these data troves and generate digital profiles that serve as gatekeepers to life’s necessities such as jobs, housing, health care, and education. Several...

We live in a “datafied” society in which our personal data is constantly harvested, analyzed, and sold by governments and businesses. Algorithms analyze this data, sort people into categories, and serve as gatekeepers to life's necessities. Yet people remain largely in the dark about these...

Since 1996, the federal government has undertaken major initiatives to fund religious organizations to deliver social services. These programs, called charitable choice, continue to expand and now account for over $2 billion in social welfare spending. However, charitable choice blurs the lines...

Poverty is correlated with crime, but it is widely assumed that it should not be a defense. In the 1970s, Judge David Bazelon challenged this assumption, proposing a rotten social background defense, that is, how growing up under circumstances of severe deprivation can subsequently impact a...