The departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and Housing and Urban Development have pledged to enforce laws to protect individuals from unlawful discrimination and other harms that may result from the use of artificial intelligence and other automated systems.
“As social media platforms, banks, landlords, employers and other businesses choose to rely on artificial intelligence, algorithms and automated systems to conduct business, we stand ready to hold accountable those entities that fail to address the unfair and discriminatory outcomes that may result,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement published Thursday.
“We are mounting a whole-of-government approach to enforcing civil rights and related laws when it comes to automated systems, including AI,” added Clarke, who also announced the launch of a webpage aimed at centralizing content with regard to her division’s work on civil rights and AI.
Officials from federal agencies on Wednesday attended a meeting hosted by the Civil Rights Division and discussed strategies to improve coordination and enforcement and raise public awareness about the potential discriminary effects of AI and other automated tools.
They also offered updates on their agencies’ guidance and other obligations under the AI executive order.
In April 2023, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, the Federal Trade Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pledged to enforce civil rights laws to protect consumers against the misuse of AI and other automated systems.