Michigan Civil Rights Commission Passes Resolution to Establish Guiding Principles for Use of AI in Michigan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 21, 2024

Michigan Civil Rights Commission Passes Resolution to Establish Guiding Principles for Use of AI in Michigan

Commission also votes in support of bills to prohibit discrimination in housing based on source of income

ALPENA, MI--At their quarterly meeting held today in Alpena, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission passed a resolution to establish a set of guiding principles for use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Michigan. They also passed a resolution in support of SB 205-207, bills that would prohibit discrimination in housing based on source of income.

"The use of AI is all but ubiquitous," said Commission Chair Gloria Lara, "and the speed and extent of its adoption demands we take seriously the dangers of disparate impacts on the people we are charged with protecting. The guiding principles we supported today will help ensure that the use of AI does not result in unintended and discriminatory consequences for many Michiganders."

The resolution states in part, "WHEREAS there is substantial evidence that unless purposefully addressed the tendency of Artificial Intelligence systems to incorporate biased and discriminatory data will result in the perpetuation of discriminatory outcomes with serious implications for the civil rights of Michigan citizens… the Michigan Civil Rights Commission hereby adopts for publication and dissemination Guiding Principles For The Elimination And Prevention Of Artificial Intelligence Bias And Discrimination."

Some specific principles called for in the guidelines include:

• Legislation to prevent algorithmic discrimination in the use of AI systems.
• Protections from privacy violations through AI design which creates or perpetuates inequity and bias.
• A designated task force established to determine and monitor that data collection conforms to reasonable expectations and that only data strictly necessary for the specific context is collected.
• The ability for people to opt out of AI-empowered automated systems in favor of a human alternative, with necessary accommodations for persons with disabilities.

The complete resolution and guiding principles on use of AI are available at the links provided.

The Commission also unanimously passed a resolution in support of SB 205-207, bills currently in the Michigan Senate that would prohibit source of income discrimination in housing. The full resolution is available here.

The Commission resolution on SB 205-207 follows more than a year of public hearings and a Civil Rights Summit focused on examining housing discrimination in Michigan and engaging policy and community leaders in finding workable solutions. A report on the hearings and the Summit can be accessed here.

In addition to the passage of the two resolutions, the Commission voted to approve the 2025 Commission meeting schedule, as follows:

• January 27, 2025 - Detroit
• April 28, 2025 - Flint
• July 23, 2025 - Lansing
• October 27, 2025 - Petoskey

Specific locations in each city will be announced and posted to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights website prior to each meeting in 2025.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission was created by the Michigan Constitution to safeguard constitutional and legal guarantees against discrimination. The Commission is charged with investigating alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race, color or national origin, genetic information, sex, age, marital status, height, weight, arrest record, and physical and mental disability. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights serves as the operational arm of the Commission.

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