Artificial intelligence is taking over headlines.
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From ChatGPT to Bard, to MidJourney and beyond, generative artificial intelligence has been dominating headlines. But “AI” involves far more than these quickly-evolving generative text and image tools. Automated systems increasingly shape decisions about employment, government services, and public safety, affecting people’s access to economic opportunities, civil liberties, and civil rights.
While recognizing the innovative potential of AI systems, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is addressing the very real harms that emerge when systems are irresponsibly designed and deployed. As CDT President and CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens said in recent Senate testimony, we need a cross-society effort to address these issues, ensuring that the United States’ global leadership on AI is grounded in a true commitment to trust, fairness, and democratic values. |
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Employment. An increasing number of businesses are using AI and other automated systems to recruit, hire, evaluate, manage, and even terminate workers. These automated employment decision tools (AEDTs), which include résumé screening tools, gamified personality tests, and automated management systems, seemingly save time for human resource professionals and managers. They may test workers for certain traits that aren't necessary to perform the jobs they seek, though, and often discriminate against underrepresented and historically disadvantaged workers. When developers aren’t transparent about how these automated systems work, don’t provide ways to test them and learn more about their possible outcomes, or rely on potentially flawed data to train them, these systems can reinforce existing bias and lack of representation in the workplace, discriminating against already marginalized communities.
Government Services. The private sector is not the only user of AI tools for automated decision-making. Public service agencies, such as those administering public housing benefits, are turning to data and technology in order to work more quickly and effectively distribute benefits. Without strong safeguards to protect data security and mitigate bias, agencies’ data practices can harm people’s economic and social well-being. No matter what governments are using these systems for — whether they’re determining which potential benefits recipients to prioritize, or using biometrics for identity verification — it is critical that they affirm individual privacy, respect civil rights, foster inclusive participatory systems, promote transparent and accountable oversight, and advance just social structures within the broader community.
Government Surveillance. The use of AI tools in government extends past public benefits to include surveillance; in the U.S. alone, half of all federal agencies with law enforcement officers use facial recognition in both targeted and untargeted ways. The use of these tools poses a particular threat to human rights because it can unjustifiably deprive people of their civil liberties, and can be abused to target dissidents and vulnerable communities. Facial recognition’s potential to amplify disparate policing practices and lack of accuracy only compound this risk, with some algorithms being 100 times more likely to misidentify Asian and Black individuals than white men. Guardrails need to be established to limit how this surveillance technology is used.
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CDT CEO Alexandra Givens Testimony Before Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs on “Artificial Intelligence: Risks and Opportunities”
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CDT Comments Supporting EEOC’s Recognition of Discriminatory Tech as an Enforcement Priority
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Dispelling Myths About Artificial Intelligence for Government Service Delivery
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CDT Comments to California Privacy Protection Agency on Automated Decision-making and Risk Assessments
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Brief | Generative AI Systems in Education – Uses and Misuses
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Governments everywhere are working to catch up to the implications of AI use across sectors. From the European Union’s AI Act to various agency actions in the U.S., policymakers are realizing that AI applications require their attention now. CDT is at the forefront of these efforts, advocating directly to U.S. federal agencies, Congress, and the White House, engaging directly with companies, coordinating civil society engagement in Europe, and helping a broad range of impacted communities understand what’s at stake.
CDT is working hard to ensure that your rights are at the center of discussions on AI and machine learning. Partners like you have been indispensable in this work. If you are not yet engaged and want to learn more, please reply to this email to join the conversation. You can help advance human rights and democratic values in the digital age.
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