TL;DR:
- The CFPB, FTC, EEOC, and Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice have released a joint statement on their enforcement authorities.
- The statement expresses concern about the potential for discriminatory outcomes in automated systems, including AI.
- The agencies pledge to monitor the development and use of AI, promote responsible innovation, and use their enforcement authorities to protect against discrimination.
- The statement follows warnings from state Attorneys General on the risks posed by AI and algorithmic decision-making.
- The agencies aim to ensure that developers and users of AI understand the potential for discriminatory outcomes.
Main AI News:
The Joint Statement: A Declaration of Enforcing Authorities
In a unified move, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice have released a joint statement that highlights their respective enforcement authorities over civil rights, non-discrimination, fair competition, and consumer protection. The statement clearly mentions the agencies’ stance on automated systems, including artificial intelligence (AI), and the potential for discriminatory outcomes.
The Power of Automated Systems: A Concern for Unlawful Discrimination
The agencies express their concern that automated systems have the potential to result in discriminatory practices, given their reliance on data to find patterns and correlations and make recommendations and predictions. The statement highlights the fact that data sets used by these systems could be unrepresentative or incorporate historical biases, leading to discriminatory outcomes. Moreover, the agencies mention the potential for automated systems to correlate data with protected classes, leading to further discriminatory outcomes.
A Pledge to Monitor and Promote Responsible Innovation
The agencies pledge to monitor the development and use of automated systems and to promote responsible innovation. They aim to ensure that developers and users of these new technologies understand the potential for discriminatory outcomes and are equipped with the necessary knowledge to prevent such outcomes.
Enforcing Authorities at Work
The agencies vow to use their enforcement authorities to protect individuals’ rights if the use of AI does result in discriminatory practices. This joint statement comes on the heels of warnings from state Attorneys General on similar risks posed by AI and algorithmic decision-making.
In conclusion, the joint statement by the CFPB, FTC, EEOC, and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice serves as a clear declaration of their stance on the use of automated systems, including AI, and the potential for discriminatory outcomes. The agencies are committed to monitoring and promoting responsible innovation and using their enforcement authorities to protect individuals’ rights if necessary.
Conlcusion:
The joint statement by the CFPB, FTC, EEOC, and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has far-reaching implications for the market. The agencies’ commitment to monitoring and promoting responsible innovation in AI and their vow to use their enforcement authorities to protect against discrimination signal a heightened level of scrutiny for the development and use of automated systems.
This is particularly significant for businesses that use or are considering the use of AI, as it highlights the need for them to be aware of the potential for discriminatory outcomes and to take measures to prevent such outcomes. The joint statement serves as a reminder for businesses to be mindful of the ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI and to prioritize the protection of individual rights in their decision-making processes.
