AI techniques based on big data and algorithmic processing are increasingly used to guide decisions in important societal spheres, including hiring decisions, university admissions, loan granting, and crime prediction. They are applied by search engines, Internet recommendation systems and social media bots, influencing our perceptions of political developments and even of scientific findings. However, there are growing concerns with regard to the epistemic and normative quality of AI evaluations and predictions. In particular, there is strong evidence that algorithms may sometimes amplify rather than eliminate existing bias and discrimination, and thereby have negative effects on social cohesion and on democratic institutions.