House, Senate Lawmakers Move to Protect Citizens From Biased Algorithms

Lawmakers in both houses of Congress have proposed a bill to protect individuals impacted by artificial intelligence-informed decisions in housing, credit and other areas.

Under the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission would be required to craft assessment instructions and evaluation procedures for companies operating AI used for such decision-making. The FTC would also need to release an annual report creating an accessible repository of automated critical decision data, Nextgov/FCW reported Friday.

In addition, the agency would be authorized to onboard 75 new employees for a new Bureau of Technology responsible for enforcing the bill.

Sen. Cory Booker, one of the legislation’s sponsors, explained that there have been many cases of automated processes and facial recognition systems biased against minorities and women used in health care and recruitment.

So far, the proposed legislation’s backers are all Democrats. According to co-sponsor Sen. Ron Wyden, the bill could also attract support from Republicans “concerned about getting AI regulations right.”

In May, senators introduced legislation that would establish a commission to monitor AI companies and digital platform service providers. Such a group would protect consumers from deceptive practices and support ongoing efforts by the FTC and the Department of Justice to police digital platforms.