“The EEOC is keenly aware that [artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making] tools may mask and perpetuate bias or create new discriminatory barriers to jobs. We must work to ensure that these new technologies do not become a high-tech pathway to discrimination.”
Statement from EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows in late October 2021 announcing the employment agency’s launching an initiative to ensure artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging tools used in hiring and other employment decisions comply with federal civil rights laws.
The EEOC is not alone in its concerns about the use of AI, machine learning, and related technologies in employment decision-making activities. On March 25, 2022, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Council discussed draft regulations regarding automated-decision systems. The draft regulations were informed by testimony at a hearing last year the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) held on Algorithms & Bias.
Algorithms are increasingly making significant impacts on people’s lives, including in connection with important employment decisions, such as job applicant screening. Depending on the design of these newer technologies and the data used, AI and similar tools risk perpetrating biases that are hard to detect. Of course, the AI conundrum is not limited to employment. Research in the US and China, for example, suggests AI biases can lead to disparities in healthcare.
Under the draft regulations, the DFEH...
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