The Connecticut Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released an interim advisory memorandum on algorithm bias. In September 2022, the Committee held a hearing at the Legislative Office Building to hear testimony on the use of algorithms by government agencies and how they may create or perpetuate discrimination and regulatory approaches to address bias and discrimination.
The Committee issues this memorandum to alert and encourages the Connecticut Legislature to be a national leader in the movement to address algorithmic bias and discrimination. This Committee believes the Legislature can accomplish this by enacting a comprehensive Connecticut Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights. Any legislation should include guardrails for the development, use and monitoring of algorithms to minimize the potential for bias and disparate impact on people of color as well as a process to review and address the use of algorithms. The Committee recommends that the Legislature incorporate principles set forward in the recently released White House AI Blueprint.
“The state of Connecticut makes thousands of decisions that impact the lives and civil rights of residents every day,” said David McGuire, chair of the Advisory Committee. “Through our briefings we learned that some of these decisions are made with the use of algorithms. When the state uses an algorithm residents should know which agency is using the algorithm, the reason it is being used, and assurances that the algorithm is fair.”
The Committee intends to submit a more comprehensive report, including formal findings and recommendations, to the Commission on Civil Rights, state leadership, and Connecticut legislature in the next few months.
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