US Regulators Say AI-Powered Decisions Must Follow the Law

Decisions made for companies by artificial intelligence (AI) still have to adhere to the law.

So said four federal agencies in a joint statement released Tuesday (April 25).

“These automated systems are often advertised as providing insights and breakthroughs, increasing efficiencies and cost-savings, and modernizing existing practices,” the joint statement said. “Although many of these tools offer the promise of advancement, their use also has the potential to perpetuate unlawful bias, automate unlawful discrimination and produce other harmful outcomes.”

The statement was released by the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

All four agencies have previously expressed concerns about the potential of these systems, will monitor their use and will enforce their collective authorities, they said in a Tuesday press release.

For example, the CFPB has advised that companies cannot defend violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by pointing to the complexity of credit decisions made by technology, that they cannot permit unlawful conduct developed by AI technologies and that they cannot allow bias within home valuations and appraisals generated by AI, according to the release.

“Technology marketed as AI has spread to every corner of the economy, and regulators need to stay ahead of its growth to prevent discriminatory outcomes that threaten families’ financial stability,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the release. “Today’s joint statement makes it clear that the CFPB will work with its partner enforcement agencies to root out discrimination caused by any tool or system that enables unlawful decision making.”

As PYMNTS reported April 17, the rapid development of AI capabilities, paired with its attractive industry-agnostic integration use cases, is already proving to be a challenge for regulators and lawmakers around the world as they race to address them.

In recent weeks, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., unveiled a framework of rules designed to chart a path for the U.S. to regulate and shape the emergent AI industry; the Biden administration laid out a formal request for comment meant to help shape specific U.S. policy recommendations around AI; and China’s internet regulator released a set of detailed measure to keep AI in check.