Representative Jayapal, Senator Markey Urge President Biden to Implement AI Bill of Rights in Upcoming Executive Order
Their letter echoes a recent call from more than 60 civil society organizations
Lawmakers: “the federal government’s commitment to the AI Bill of Rights would show that fundamental rights will not take a back seat in the AI era”
Washington – Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Science, Commerce, and Transportation Committee, along with Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), and Representatives Lori Trahan (MA-03), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Katie Porter (CA-47), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Cori Bush (MO-01), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), today urged President Joe Biden to incorporate the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights into his upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) Executive Order, a crucial step in developing an ethical framework for the federal government’s role in AI. Their letter calls on the Biden administration to make the AI Bill of Rights’ five principles—safe and effective systems, algorithmic discrimination protections, data privacy, notice and explanation, and human alternatives, consideration, and fallback—along with detailed best practices, binding when federal agencies develop, purchase, fund, deploy, or regulate the use of automated systems which could impact people’s freedoms and rights. The lawmakers also urged for these core principles to be implemented as part of any potential national security or law enforcement use of AI.
AI systems create new risks and exacerbate existing biases, especially to underserved communities. In February, a Black woman who was eight months pregnant was wrongfully arrested for robbery and carjacking because of false facial recognition. Algorithms have also falsely flagged people for financial fraud. Studies have reported that credit scoring algorithms are less accurate for low-income and minority borrowers, while hiring algorithms can perpetuate gender biases. The principles and practices in the AI Bill of Rights provide a crucial foundation to combat many of these harms in the near future.
In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers wrote, “By turning the AI Bill of Rights from a non-binding statement of principles into federal policy, your Administration would send a clear message to both private actors and federal regulators: AI systems must be developed with guardrails. Doing so would also strengthen your Administration’s efforts to advance racial equity and support underserved communities, building on important work from previous executive orders.”
The lawmakers continued, “As a substantial purchaser, user, and regulator of AI tools, as well as a significant funder of state-level programs, the federal government’s commitment to the AI Bill of Rights would show that fundamental rights will not take a back seat in the AI era. Finally, implementing these principles will not only protect communities harmed by these technologies, it will also help inform ongoing policy conversations in Congress and show clear leadership on the global stage.”
Issues: Science, Technology, & Antitrust