“Progress must not come at the price of civil rights or democratic values,” said the press note from the White House.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on Tuesday issued guidelines titled “Blueprint for An AI Bill of Rights” meant to protect all people from threats including limiting their access to equal opportunity; prevent access to critical resources or services; and undermining their privacy, or tracking their activities.

The White House cited the extraordinary benefits from automated systems that help “farmers grow food more efficiently and computers that predict storm paths, to algorithms that can identify diseases in patients.”

“These tools now drive important decisions across sectors, while data is helping to revolutionize global industries. Fueled by the power of American innovation, these tools hold the potential to redefine every part of our society and make life better for everyone,” said the note.

On the flip side the note cited the ill effects of AI: “Systems supposed to help with patient care have proven unsafe, ineffective, or biased. Algorithms used in hiring and credit decisions have been found to reflect and reproduce existing unwanted inequities or embed new harmful bias and discrimination. Unchecked social media data collection has been used to threaten people’s opportunities, undermine their privacy, or pervasively track their activity—often without their knowledge or consent.”

Accordingly, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has set out the five (non-binding) principles that should “guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems to protect the American public in the age of artificial intelligence.”

The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights – Five Principles

· Safe and Effective Systems – You should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems.

· Algorithmic Discrimination Protections – You should not face discrimination by algorithms and systems should be used and designed in an equitable way.

· Data Privacy – You should be protected from abusive data practices via built-in protections and you should have agency over how data about you is used.

· Notice and Explanation – You should know that an automated system is being used and understand how and why it contributes to outcomes that impact you.

· Human Alternatives, Consideration, and Fallback – You should be able to opt out, where appropriate, and have access to a person who can quickly consider and remedy problems you encounter.

“Technologies will come and go, but foundational liberties, rights, opportunities, and access need to be held open, and it’s the government’s job to help ensure that’s the case,” Alondra Nelson, OSTP deputy director for science and society, told WIRED on the AI Bill of Rights. “This is the White House saying that workers, students, consumers, communities, everyone in this country should expect and demand better from our technologies.”

Related Story: The White House Guides on the Regulatory Approach to AI

Photo by Ana Lanza on Unsplash