Multiple Federal Agencies Address use of Artificial Intelligence in Business and Employment Practices

Several government agencies have recently announced plans to use existing regulatory structures to limit the extent to which automated systems and artificial intelligence are potentially resulting in illegal and unfair practices in both business and employment. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as well as the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice released a joint statement making clear that they are not waiting for new laws specifically addressing automated systems to start regulating their now ubiquitous use in business practices.

This statement comes in light of the growing trend of using automated systems for recruitment, hiring, performance evaluation, and job surveillance. There is an anticipatory concern that use of these automated systems may result in unfair business practices, discriminatory employment practices, and potential civil rights violations. Charlotte Burrows, Chair of the EEOC, noted that AI is already used prominently in the employment space by an overwhelming majority of Fortune 500 companies.

The respective agencies are attempting to make it clear that use of AI will in no way prevent them from enforcing current law, and that compliance with existing reporting requirements could and should include shows of due diligence in engaging the services of AI vendors. The novelty of these new and versatile AI vendors will not prevent agencies such as the FTC from combatting “unfair or deceptive practices of unfair methods of competition,” according to FTC Chair Lina Khan.