Lab 05, Civil rights & AI policy

Civil Rights AI Policy Impact Lab

Pick a real area where AI is making decisions about people, add safeguards, and see who is protected and who is still at risk. Leave with a policy response draft you can use.

The proposal

Hiring algorithms

A state lets employers use AI to screen and rank job applicants with no current rules.

Add civil rights safeguards

Who benefits, who is harmed

Black womenHarmed

People with disabilitiesHarmed

Low income communitiesAt risk

Immigrant communitiesAt risk

Deploying institutionProtected

Scores are illustrative, drawn from documented patterns in civil rights research, to show direction of impact rather than exact outcomes.

Your policy response draft

Policy response: Hiring algorithms

Context: A state lets employers use AI to screen and rank job applicants with no current rules.

Without safeguards, this technology risks deepening existing discrimination against Black women, people with disabilities, low income communities, and immigrant communities. Civil rights protections must apply to automated decisions just as they apply to human ones.

Recommended provisions:
- (select provisions in the lab)

Still unaddressed:
- Annual independent bias audit
- Notice to applicants
- Human review on request
- Accessible alternative process
- Shared vendor liability

Community accountability: the people most affected must have a voice in how these systems are adopted, audited, and retired.