April 10, 2024 • News

Federal Agencies Issue Joint Statement for Fairness and Equity in the Use of AI

On April 4, 2024, nine federal agencies issued a statement committing to protecting the public from unlawful bias in automated systems, including artificial intelligence (AI), with respect to civil rights, fair competition, consumer protection, and equal opportunity. Although AI can provide insight, increase efficiency and modernize practices, its use also has the potential to perpetuate unlawful bias, automate unlawful discrimination, and produce other harmful outcomes. 

Potential discrimination in AI may stem from different sources, including problems with:

• Data and datasets that are imbalanced, incorporate historical bias, or correlate data with protected classes, which can lead to discriminatory outcomes
• Model opacity and access Many automated systems are “black boxes” whose internal workings are not clear to most people. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to know whether the AI is fair. 
• Design and use AI developers do not always understand or account for the contexts in which private or public entities will use their product. They may design a system on the basis of flawed assumptions about its users or the practices or procedures it may replace. 

The statement was jointly issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Education, the Department of Health & Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Housing, and the Department of Labor.