Shortly after the DOL’s release of guidance on the use of AI in the workplace, a bipartisan working group from the U.S. Senate and the Biden administration have released additional guidance regarding the use of AI in the workplace.
Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group’s “road map” for establishing federal AI policies
On May 15, 2024, the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released a “road map” for establishing federal AI policies. The road map is titled “Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Policy in the United States Senate,” and outlines the opportunities and risks involved with AI development and implementation. Most notably, the road map highlights key policy priorities for AI, such as: promoting AI innovation, investing in research and development for AI, establishing training programs for AI in the workplace, developing and clarifying AI laws and guidelines, addressing intellectual property and privacy issues raised by AI and creating related protections for those affected, and integrating AI into already-existing laws.
The working group acknowledged that the increased use of AI in the workplace poses the risk of “hurting labor and the workforce” but also emphasized that AI has great potential for positive application. This dichotomy necessitates the advancement of additional “innovation” that will create “ways to minimize those liabilities.”
Biden administration’s May 16, 2024 guidance on AI
A day later on May 16, 2024, the Biden administration released guidelines on how humans should oversee AI at work. Noting that the guidelines apply to all sectors and during the whole lifecycle of AI (“from design to development, testing, training, deployment and use, oversight, and auditing”), the White House provided the following eight guiding principles:
- Centering worker empowerment: Workers and their representatives, especially those from underserved communities, should be informed of and have genuine input in the design, development, testing, training, use, and oversight of AI systems for use in the workplace.
- Ethically developing AI: AI systems should be designed, developed, and trained in a way that protects workers.
- Establishing AI governance and human oversight: Organizations should have clear governance systems, procedures, human oversight, and evaluation processes for AI systems for use in the workplace.
- Ensuring transparency in AI use: Employers should be transparent with workers and job seekers about the AI systems that are being used in the workplace.
- Protecting labor and employment rights: AI systems should not violate or undermine workers’ right to organize, health and safety rights, wage and hour rights, and anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation protections.
- Using AI to enable workers: AI systems should assist, complement, and enable workers, and improve job quality.
- Supporting workers impacted by AI: Employers should support or upskill workers during job transitions related to AI.
- Ensuring responsible use of worker data: Workers’ data collected, used, or created by AI systems should be limited in scope and location, used only to support legitimate business aims, and protected and handled responsibly.
Employers who are using AI should carefully review the Senate’s and the Biden administration’s guidance, as well as the other federal guidance regarding AI, to understand the government’s expectations regarding the use of AI as well as best practices to minimize the risk of employment claims related to the use of AI.