The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asked for public input on consumer protection issues that arise from the use of algorithms, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics. On February 15, 2019, NHMC joined comments led by the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law urging the FTC to use its authority to help reduce algorithmic discrimination by studying past examples of these harms to inform future action.
Research shows that inadequately trained algorithms have a direct impact on advertisements related to educational, employment, housing, and civic engagement opportunities for historically disadvantaged communities. Algorithmic bias also has a disparate impact on product pricing and same day shipping. Accordingly, the letter urges the FTC to require that algorithms be trained with diverse datasets and thoroughly tested. It also reiterates that companies should be required to maintain transparency and monitor algorithms for fairness.
Click here to review the letter.
