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Colorado Pioneers AI Bias Regulation in Pivotal Decisions
Being more closely associated with the circle of technology, Colorado has become the first state in the United States to enact legislation to address the issue of AI bias in key decisions. Implementing a new law to legalize artificial means of decision-making, the Governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, signed a law that mandates that companies assess the risk of discrimination in AI should notify the customer of AI usage when it is consequential.
This act brings the initiative closer to achieving goals, namely increasing the level of accountability of artificial intelligence systems’ functioning. It employs an AI-based system for decision-making in areas like employment, credit scoring, expulsion from school, and unlawful housing. It requires that companies report to consumers, applicants, and others the occurrence of AI use in the organization and the intended use.
Furthermore, there is a need to address the question of disclosure, where the law demands that more information be given about the AI systems, specifically how the AI has been tested for biases. The exemptions to the law have been defended as necessary measures aimed at preventing such artificial intelligence systems as those based on machine learning algorithms from discriminating against some people or groups of people.
Critics have nevertheless voiced their complaints about the recent regulations, arguing that they might limit the development of new technologies in the AI sector. While it does come with its drawbacks, it is still perceived as a first and effective step toward mitigating the discrimination that AI brings. Many of these measures may remain the same, but the overall structure is likely to be sculpted with Colorado’s legislation probably being used as a play by other states and the federal government.
Given the rising influence of AI in various areas of human life, it becomes imperative that there is a legal framework in place that would, for instance, counteract potential bias in AI. The Colorado law is another step in this likely never-ending process of trying to properly justify the usage of AI while also trying to minimize the potential harms and negative outcomes of their usage.
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