Four federal agencies recently pledged to collaborate closely to prevent discrimination resulting from the use of artificial intelligence and automated decision tools in the workplace. It signaled their heightened scrutiny of employers deploying AI in the last year.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a statement and held a press conference on April 25, highlighting their commitment to enforcing existing civil rights and consumer protection laws as they apply to AI in the workplace.
"We are going to hold companies responsible for deploying these technologies, so it is all in compliance with existing law," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "We have such a clear focus today on making sure that this does not become a vector for infringing civil rights."
Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the DOJ, called the coordination among the agencies a "whole-of-government approach."
Potential Discrimination
Some employers have started using AI and algorithms to help with decisions like recruiting, interviewing, hiring, pay and promotions. However, AI has the potential to perpetuate unlawful bias, automate unlawful discrimination and produce other harmful outcomes based on race, gender, disability or other protected characteristics, the joint statement noted.
"Unchecked AI poses threats to fairness in ways...
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