On June 5, 2019, Francella Ochillo, the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s (NHMC) Vice President of Policy and General Counsel, and Oscar Lopez, NHMC’s Google Public Policy Fellow, attended the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Rights discussion in Washington, DC. The panel was moderated by Harry Lewis (Harvard University) and included Dr. Sherry Turkle (MIT), Lynne Parker (White House Office of Science and Technology Policy), Sarah Box (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), Bilyana Petkova (EPIC), and Lorraine G. Kisselburgh (Purdue University). They discussed the dangers of human bias in artificial intelligence and its impact on equality in our society. Panelists also reflected on difficulties with streamlining AI regulatory legislation at the national, state, and city level. As the U.S. continues to build on AI policy, Latino voices need to be included in these conversations to ensure that AI algorithms are fair and trustworthy. Without the input of minority communities, these systems run the risk of hardening inequalities within our criminal justice system, economy, and beyond.
