In October 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced an initiative to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) used in the workplace does not lead to violations of the nation’s antidiscrimination laws. The EEOC, through an internal working group, plans to gather information about the design, adoption and impact of hiring and employment-related technologies, launch listening sessions with key stakeholders and issue technical assistance to provide guidance on algorithmic fairness and the use of AI in employment decisions. The EEOC’s press release announcing the initiative can be found here.
The announcement should come as no surprise to those monitoring the EEOC’s movements. Indeed, the EEOC’s interest in AI can be traced back to an October 2016 public EEOC meeting discussing the use of big data in the workplace.
Employment lawyers, EEOC commissioners and computer scientists at that meeting agreed that AI should not be viewed as a panacea for employment discrimination. The technology, if not carefully implemented and monitored, can introduce and even exacerbate unlawful bias. This is because algorithms generally rely on a set of human inputs, such as resumés of high-performing employees. If those inputs lack diversity, the algorithm may reinforce existing institutional bias at breakneck speed.
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