The use of technology, data, and automated systems is an ongoing challenge when it comes to the rights and privacies of citizens. In the United States, many technological systems have proven to be “unsafe, ineffective, or biased”. Important progress with automated systems must not be a tradeoff to civil liberties, democratic values, or data security.
To advance President Biden’s vision of equality, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has identified five principles to guide the “design, use, and deployment of automated systems to protect the American public in the age of artificial intelligence”. These principles help to provide guidance whenever automated systems may impact the public’s “right, opportunities, or access to critical needs”.
1. Safe and Effective Systems
Automated systems should be developed through conversations and consultation from diverse communities, stakeholders, and domain experts. Systems should also undergo pre-deployment testing, risk identification and mitigation and be continually monitored.
2. Algorithmic Discrimination Protections
Algorithmic discrimination occurs when automated systems disfavour groups based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender expression. Developers should act to implement equity assessments as part of system design including the use of representative data.
3. Data Privacy
Users should be protected from violations of privacy by ensuring that data collection is only based on strictly necessary collection. Moreover, consent should only be used to justify the collection of data in cases where it can be properly given.
4. Notice and Explanation
Designers, developers, and deployers of automated systems should use accessible language in documentation and ensure they are up-to-date.
5. Human Alternatives, Consideration, and Fallback
The option to opt-out, where appropriate, should be available as well as access to someone who may be able to remedy and issues that arise, i.e. connecting with a real human.
Read the comprehensive framework on the White House website.
