Rep Pressley pushes AI Civil Rights Act, aimed to ‘especially’ protect Black, Brown and marginalized people

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., helped advocate for the AI Civil Rights Act last week in order to prevent companies from using what Democrats describe as "biased and discriminatory AI-powered algorithms."

Pressley joined Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Reps. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., to reintroduce and advocate for the AI Civil Rights last week.

"As AI innovation grows, it is incumbent on us all to prioritize the safety, rights, and opportunity of all people — especially the Black, Brown, and marginalized communities who disproportionately bear the burden of biased and discriminatory systems," Pressley said in a statement on her website. "We cannot allow AI to be the latest chapter in America’s history of exploiting marginalized people. That is why the AI Civil Rights Act is necessary — to invest in an approach rooted in equity that safeguards all of our civil rights and liberties."

Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, was quoted in the same piece declaring his organization’s pride in partnering with the politicians pushing this legislation. [MORE]