# Selecting for Less Discriminatory Algorithms: A Relational Search Framework for Navigating Fairness-Accuracy Trade-offs in Practice

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.01594 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.01594/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 16 of its 53 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 2 Jun 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 16 of 16)

- [Equality of Opportunity in Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.02413/) (2016)
- [Fair prediction with disparate impact: A study of bias in recidivism prediction instruments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.07524/) (2016)
- [Mitigating Unwanted Biases with Adversarial Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.07593/) (2018)
- [Inherent Trade-Offs in the Fair Determination of Risk Scores](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.05807/) (2016)
- [Underspecification Presents Challenges for Credibility in Modern Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.03395/) (2020)
- [Predictive Multiplicity in Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.06677/) (2019)
- [Algorithmic Fairness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.09784/) (2020)
- [Fairwashing Explanations with Off-Manifold Detergent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.09969/) (2020)
- [Post-processing for Individual Fairness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.13796/) (2021)
- [A Survey on Intersectional Fairness in Machine Learning: Notions, Mitigation, and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.06969/) (2023)
- [Be Intentional About Fairness!: Fairness, Size, and Multiplicity in the Rashomon Set](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.15634/) (2025)
- [Cross-model Fairness: Empirical Study of Fairness and Ethics Under Model Multiplicity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.07139/) (2022)
- [What Constitutes a Less Discriminatory Algorithm?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.18138/) (2024)
- [Toward Operationalizing Pipeline-aware ML Fairness: A Research Agenda for Developing Practical Guidelines and Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.17337/) (2023)
- [The Legal Duty to Search for Less Discriminatory Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.06817/) (2024)
- [Overcoming Fairness Trade-offs via Pre-processing: A Causal Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.14710/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [The Statistical Fairness-Accuracy Frontier](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.17622/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As machine learning models are increasingly embedded into society through high-stakes decision-making, selecting the right algorithm for a given task, audience, and sector presents a critical challenge, particularly in the context of fairness. Traditional assessments of model fairness have often framed fairness as an objective mathematical property, treating model selection as an optimization problem under idealized informational conditions. This overlooks model multiplicity as a consideration--that multiple models can deliver similar performance while exhibiting different fairness characteristics. Legal scholars have engaged this challenge through the concept of Less Discriminatory Algorithms (LDAs), which frames model selection as a civil rights obligation. In real-world deployment, this normative challenge is bounded by constraints on fairness experimentation, e.g., regulatory standards, institutional priorities, and resource capacity. Against these considerations, the paper revisits Lee and Floridi (2021)'s relational fairness approach using updated 2021 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, and proposes an expansion of the scope of the LDA search process. We argue that extending the LDA search horizontally, considering fairness across model families themselves, provides a lightweight complement, or alternative, to within-model hyperparameter optimization, when operationalizing fairness in non-experimental, resource constrained settings. Fairness metrics alone offer useful, but insufficient signals to accurately evaluate candidate LDAs. Rather, by using a horizontal LDA search approach with the relational trade-off framework, we demonstrate a responsible minimum viable LDA search on real-world lending outcomes. Organizations can modify this approach to systematically compare, evaluate, and select LDAs that optimize fairness and accuracy in a sector-based contextualized manner.