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Some legal experts and computer scientists have been more wary. Just because something is a machine doesn’t mean it’s free of human biases, they say, as the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in other areas illustrates. In the criminal justice sphere, for example, use of this type of technology was once seen as a way to reduce bias in sentencing, but now evidence indicates that the data it pulls in reproduces already present inequality. 

New data from the Education Department reveals that of the 7.7 million federal student-loan borrowers in the US that were behind on payments at that start of the pandemic, 93% are still behind — despite a nearly two-year pause in payments.

Watch: Student loan debt relief may be in sight for some as the Department of Education announces an overhaul of its student loan forgiveness program for public servants.

And while the memo itself tells us almost nothing, experts believe its existence and paper trail proves that the president has the authority to forgive all debt but lacks the political will to do so.

Other changes include plans to simplify the application process, review denied applications to correct prior errors, remove barriers that deter participation of members of the military and improve communication with eligible borrowers, the agency said.