The Biden administration warned Tuesday that artificial intelligence and other emerging software tools could lead U.S. companies to violate civil rights and consumer protection laws.
The heads of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a joint statement stating that AI and other automated systems are regulated by existing laws meant to protect Americans against discrimination in the workplace and from fraud and unfair business practices.
“Existing legal authorities apply to the use of automated systems and innovative new technologies just as they apply to other practices,” the statement says. “We take seriously our responsibility to ensure that these rapidly evolving automated systems are developed in a manner consistent with federal laws.”
The announcement follows separate statements or legal actions from all four regulators that illustrated the seriousness with which the Biden administration is following the emergence of new technologies like AI.
Last June, the DOJ settled with Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
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to resolve allegations of discriminatory advertising in violation of the Fair Housing Act, and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke told reporters in a briefing Tuesday that the action is an example of her commitment to “using civil rights laws to hold companies accountable when they use artificial intelligence in ways that proved discriminatory.”
Meta agreed to stop using an algorithmic tool that the DOJ alleged used characteristics protected under federal law to filter those who saw ads for housing.
The CFPB and FTC have both issued reports warning companies that existing laws meant to protect consumers apply regardless of the technology being used to offer products and services, while the EEOC issued a technical assistance document explaining how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the use of software and AI to make employment related decisions about job applicants and employees.
Read more: Watch your ‘AI hype,’ feds warn tech companies
EEOC Chairwoman Charlotte Burrows gave the example of workplace surveillance technologies, sometimes called “bossware,” as one tool employers should use with caution.
“Some of these algorithms are being used in dictating how employees can work,” Burrows said. “If you need a break because you have a disability, or perhaps you’re pregnant….the algorithm doesn’t necessarily take into account that accomodation.”
Burrows also warned that software tools used to screen job applicants could also violate federal law if they inadvertently discriminate against an applicant based on protected statuses like gender or race.
Federal laws “serve to protect the public and companies should understand that they may bear legal liability if AI tools are designed to harm or deceive Americans,” FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said at the Tuesday briefing. “We already see how these AI tools can turbocharge fraudulent practices and automate discrimination.”
