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What about government agencies like the FTC (or US Securities & Exchange Commission) to provide enforcement to better protect civil rights, cybersecurity and child protection?

The FTC’s effort to determine whether technology and data analytics are introducing bias and discrimination into business and society. The FTC report recognized that big data encompasses a “wide range of analytics,” but the 2016 summary was focused on the commercial use of consumer data and its impact on low-income and underserved populations. The study goes on to recommend strategies for companies to use technology and analytics to provide advantage to these underserved stakeholders and sidestep the unintentional (or intentional) bias and discrimination that could arise out of their use.

What about US Law Enforcement and AI bias?

Technology & Discrimination

The FTC is not the only group looking at the possible misuse of technology and data as an inhibitor to diversity and inclusion. There are many examples of the potential for technology to be used in ways that discriminate and exclude rather than include. One such example is from law enforcement: 

• “Predictive policing” (the practice of using computer algorithms to determine where and when the next crime is likely to happen using data on previous criminal activity) is now leveraging new algorithms on gang warfare data. This new artificial intelligence is the first that focuses on gang-related violence. The concern is that it may be used incorrectly because it’s seen by some to be based on inadequate inputs. Therefore, it’s not immune from mistakes traditionally falling in the realm of “human error.” And it doesn’t take a rocket—or data—scientist to figure out that this shortcoming could lead to incorrect predictions.

Another example: The University of Melbourne’s “Biometric Mirror” project is one that brings to mind technologies such as Apple’s face recognition capabilities in the iPhone X. The Biometric Mirror is an AI-based project that analyzes a person’s face and displays 14 characteristics about them, including age, race and perceived level of attractiveness. To train its AI, the Melbourne researchers asked human volunteers to “judge” thousands of photos for the same characteristics. The Biometric Mirror referenced the resulting human-generated dataset when it analyzed new faces in front of it. Because the information these humans provided was subjective, so too was Biometric Mirror’s output. For example, if a man with a beard was seen as less trustworthy, the mirror would characterize someone with a beard in the same way. It doesn’t take much effort to see how this could be misused in hiring practices, for example. 

Still, there are others that recognize the power of AI to correct, or at least minimize, the impact of bias through innovative solutions:

• “Knowhere News” is a new “artificial intelligence journalist” that rewrites news stories by combining machine learning technologies and human journalists to deliver the facts on popular news stories. It reviews more than 1,000 news sources to gather details on a news item—regardless of political stance—and writes what it considers to be an impartial version of the story based on what its AI finds, and it typically does so in under 60 seconds. 

Why is Data Privacy an Important Emerging LGBTQIA Civil Rights DE&I Issue?

After 2020, LGBTQIA employees can now be protected against discrimination under the Supreme Court Decision Bostock v. Clayton County which the Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – especially at the workplace. In addition, the percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual has increased to a new high of 7.1%, which is double the percentage from 2012, when Gallup first measured it. In order for LGBTQIA to identify themselves and connect to mentor or allies – more than eve they will need to have a safe workplace culture that protects their HR data private just like other workers of race, ethnicity, disabled or veterans (protected in the workplace) against cyberattacks/ data breaches. Also, what is the intent of the company’s management motive of the use of this data? Will data in the workplace be used against LGBTQIA and are their data privacy protections in place? Not right now without governance/ and a federal privacy law passed by the US Congress.

See article: Importance/ Status of Corporate and Government Agency Human Capital Disclosures to Help Support Disabled, LGBTQIA and Veterans (+100 million Americans NOT included in workplace disclosures to protect HR data privacy protections / importance of Transparency/ Accountability/ Representation ?Equality/ Inclusion ...

What Can Be Done to Protect of Children in America Against AI Bias/Social Media Bias/ Bullying?

America public opinion has watched very closely on the link between AI and its impact on youth/children. But unlike radio and television, the hyperconnected infrastructure of social media has led to new feels/anxiety which includes concerns about new platforms that could negatively impact children’s perceptions/ mental health issues which also includes people of color/ discrimination/ LGBTQIA youth. President Biden in 2022 at the White House addressed social media’s mental health impact at State of the Union with emphasis on children and teens. According to the White House, President Biden has and will continue to also call on Congress to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children and urge tech companies to stop collecting children’s personal data.

What Can the US Do to Better Support Cybersecurity AI Bias Protection and Support of Internal Controls/ Governance Required?

Cybersecurity corporate protocols call on protection of sensitive data, like customer information and trade secrets against unauthorized access and comprise. Implementing a a new proposed US PRIVACY PROTECTION LAW would better provide cybersecurity governance and enforcement/ infrastructure/ internal controls to better shield/ prevent data breaches that lead to ransomware from government sponsored entities (Like Russia and China) for a more inclusive/ efficient capital markets/ union/ democracy. Right now, never exists.   

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Most importantly, What Can the Top Professions in America Keep Pace with AI Evolution to Prevent / Provide Better Governance/ Oversight of AI Bias Within Own Profession/ Public Interest for Better DE&I representation?

The sophistication of AI, machine learning and privacy protections are progressing at an exponential pace, and professionals need to better understand the benefits and challenges if it is to take advantage of the opportunities, but avoid the traps that lead to bias, among other pitfalls. A new national privacy protection bill before Congress can help tackles AI bias issues with a new law to address this issue. 

What Does This Mean for Accountants/Auditors and other Professions Regarding AI Bias and Importance of Privacy?

Professionals in accounting/audit, law and medical have held recent conversations with peers that continue to spark an interest in a topic that is not necessarily being discussed… In a world of information overload – more and more professionals canto fall victim to all sorts of AI bias. They can lead the profession to generate false conclusions, it’s particularly important to understand what these biases are and how they work, as the consequences can become quite drastic.

The issue of AI bias, or more plainly, bias that is introduced by the technologies we use and the data we analyze that drives business insight and decision making. For those in accounting and medicine/research -- pretty familiar territory to most these days. You prepare, validate, analyze and consume significant amounts of data in your professional roles. But take notice.

In a time of newfound emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in business, shifting the spotlight away from the people involved in decision making to the tools they use—technology and the “black boxes” out of which they gather advanced analytics derived from sophisticated algorithms—brings added perspective on what is emerging as an additional layer of complexity for businesses looking to harness the power of diversity and inclusion, not exploit it for the wrong reasons including human capital value creation and better capital markets inclusion.

Code of Ethics That All Professionals Follow to Support the Public Interest:

One of the key attributes of all professional to adhere to a rigorous set of ethical guidelines. Ethics in accounting includes both strict adherence to guidelines and careful assessment of unique situations where professional judgment is critical. Understanding the ethical frameworks for independence, objectivity, integrity, confidentiality and professional competence can better guide decision-making and help preserve the reputation/trust of the field to the public.

This includes critical elements to prevent AI Bias – using confirmation bias, sampling bias, and brilliance bias as suggested protocols to better affect professional’s ability to analyze / engage with data information to better understand how professionals can influence their day to day lives/ better support the public interest. 

Professionals Involved in Government

Professionals inside companies and government entities can play a leading role to further protect the public interest by ensuring that technologies, sophisticated analytics and the insights derived from them do not introduce bias and discrimination into the decision-making process. This begins by understanding what the technologies are, what’s going on inside the black boxes and where the potential is for bias in the outputted datasets. 

The old adage of “garbage in, garbage out” still holds true, no matter how sophisticated the black box. The algorithms may get increasingly complex, moving onto the fourth stage and beyond, but the underlying risk is still there. Bias-free technologies and algorithms must be developed, and accountants and auditors and other professionals (lawyers/ doctors) have the opportunity as data scientists to understand what’s inside the black box, as well as how to eliminate the risk of bias and impact the output >> especially healthcare.

In short, professionals can continue to protect the public interest as champions of transparent data analytics practices.

The FTC paper recommends organizations follow these steps to prevent bias and avoid legal/ethical risks under U.S. law:

1. Review your data sets and algorithms to ensure that hidden biases are not having an unintended impact on certain populations or stakeholders.
2. Remember that just because big data may find a correlation, it does not necessarily mean that the correlation is meaningful. As such, you should balance the risks of using those results, especially where your policies could negatively affect certain populations. It may be worthwhile to have human oversight of data and algorithms when big data tools are used to make important decisions, such as those implicating health, credit and employment. (As an aside, the algorithm auditor role seems to apply here.)
3. Consider whether fairness and ethical considerations advise against using big data in certain circumstances.
4. Consider further whether you can use big data in ways that advance opportunities for previously underrepresented populations.

In the U.S., there are some regulations that tackle bias and discrimination, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, equal opportunity laws and the Federal Trade Commission Act. Sophisticated technologies and analytics have the potential to expose a company to noncompliance risk, and professionals again can play a role here as auditors and data scientists to detect or eliminate those risks.

Organizations that recognize the value of diversity and inclusion and implement such best practices also help their efforts to avoid bias or noncompliance pitfalls related to these types of regulations. Companies and organizations also should support diversity and inclusion efforts. And CPAs more directly -- as data scientists, data governance and analytics professionals have the opportunity to add yet another layer of value to their roles as trusted advisers in business. This includes internal auditors that can better assist internal controls to help prevent AI Bias as well.

The FTC paper summarized the situation best: “Given that big data analytics can have big consequences, it is imperative that we work together—government, academics, consumer advocates and industry—to help ensure that we maximize big data’s capacity for good while identifying and minimizing the risks it presents.”

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COSO - Importance of AI Bias Risk Management/ Better Governance Prevention/ Guide to Follow Regarding Better AI Infrastructure

Accountants and auditors are also closely looking at the importance of AI governance infrastructure of an organization >> this includes full implementation which includes project dialogue with executive management, mapping of critical controls as outlined in the new revised Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) framework (March 30, 2023) that organizations around the world can use >> for both INTERNAL and INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDIT FRAMEWORKS > not only for AI bias prevention but can also be utilized for human capital, sustainability disclosures, cybersecurity disclosures, AI infrastructure protection of children/teens using data by an organization and government oversight by agencies.

Conclusion:

For close to almost most 50 years now -- the US Congress has tried to pass national legislation to enact a a national (if not global) data privacy law. Everyone's lives are now online (both public and private purposes), leaving behind a digital trail of personal data that unscrupulous businesses or individuals can exploit, redline, create barriers – divide the nation/ prevent democracy/ USA Government. Today – we have an opportunity to pass a national law to protect data privacy, govern the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data and set standards for how businesses and government agencies can handle, prevent AI bias/ discrimination, and prevent the breach of sensitive data to the security of the nation and other democracies of the world. Leader of the Free World, Greatest Economy of the World - INNOVATION, TALENT, NEW JOBS >> OPPORTUNITY/ FREEDOM

Here are the laws and regulations you should be aware of for 2023. We'll update this list as new laws pass in the USA and abroad... STAY TUNED.

If you have any questions or suggestions for better privacy governance please let COLCOMGROUP. Thank you...and stay safe.

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