Readout of Vice President Harris’s Meeting with Consumer Protection, Labor, and Civil Rights Leaders on AI

By Jessel Renolayan Jul 13 2023, 22:06 PM EDT

This week, Vice President Kamala Harris convened consumer protection, labor, and civil rights leaders to discuss risks related to artificial intelligence and reaffirm the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to protecting the American public from harm and discrimination.

She was joined by White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar, White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, and White House Gender Policy Council Director Jen Klein.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

During the convening, Vice President Harris rejected the "false choice" between advancing innovation and protecting Americans, and senior Biden-Harris administration officials stressed the importance of realizing the benefits that might come from advances in AI, while also mitigating the current and potential risks AI poses to individuals and society, including threats to safety, privacy, and those that deepen existing inequality and discrimination.

Civil society leaders shared real world examples of the ongoing risks posed to vulnerable people, including seniors targeted by AI enabled scams, women denied job interviews because of a biased algorithm, and warehouse workers monitored by automated trackers, forcing them to skip breaks, move too fast, and risk their health and safety. All emphasized the need to ensure that AI policy centers the rights of workers, consumers, and communities.

Biden-Harris officials and participants agreed that more work involving government, the private sector, and civil society is urgently needed to develop and ensure safeguards and protections consistent with the Administration's efforts to implement the principles and practices outlined in the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, including proactively ensuring that AI tools do not drive harm or discrimination.