On April 25, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a joint statement (Joint Statement) that each of them is now, and will be, looking at possible discrimination involving AI systems and other automated processes.
The Joint Statement summarizes each department’s and agency’s work on artificial intelligence (AI) and discrimination to date and flags their concerns regarding potential discrimination arising from (a) data sets that train AI systems, (b) opaque “black box” models that make anti-bias diligence difficult, and (c) the risk that third parties may use models in unforeseen ways. It notes that existing legal authorities apply to the use of AI tools just as they do to other conduct. Like the Biden Administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, the Joint Statement does not itself impose any new legal obligations on companies but, rather, helps to clarify the priorities of multiple agencies.