SoylentNews

AnonTechie [soylentnews.org] writes:

We’ve seen again and again the harmful, unintended consequences of irresponsibly deployed algorithms: risk assessment tools [npr.org] in the criminal justice system amplifying racial discrimination, false arrests [nytimes.com] powered by facial recognition, massive environmental costs [technologyreview.com] of server farms, unacknowledged psychological harm [nytimes.com] from social media interactions, and new, sometimes-insurmountable hurdles in accessing public services [nytimes.com]. These actual harms are egregious, but what makes the current regime hopeless is that companies are incentivized to remain ignorant (or at least claim they to be) about the harms they expose us to, lest they be found liable.

Many of the current ideas for regulating large tech companies won’t address this ignorance or the harms it causes. While proposed antitrust laws would reckon with harms emerging from diminished competition in the digital markets, relatively small companies can also have disturbing [wired.com], far-reaching power to affect our lives. Even if these proposed regulatory tools were to push tech companies away from some harmful practices, researchers, advocates and—critically —communities affected by these practices would still not have sufficient say in all the ways these companies’ algorithms shape our lives. This is especially troubling given how little information and influence we have over algorithms that control critical parts of our lives. The newly updated Algorithmic Accountability Act [senate.gov] from Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Cory Booker, and Rep. Yvette Clarke could change this dynamic—and give us all an opportunity to reclaim some power over the algorithms that control critical parts of our lives.

Now, in a significant step forward, lawmakers are increasingly building impact assessments into draft legislation. The updated Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2022, which we learned about in a briefing from Wyden’s office in mid-January, would require impact assessments when companies are using automated systems to make critical decisions, providing consumers and regulators with much needed clarity and structure around when and how these kinds of systems are being used.

[...] Given the challenging legislative landscape in Congress, it is hard to say how far this bill will proceed. However, it has more co-sponsors than the previous version, and it lands at a time when many members of Congress are more eager to discuss significant changes to Big Tech’s largely unchecked power to determine how algorithmic systems determine important features of our lives.

[...] Companies consistently shirked their responsibility to the public interest, but landmark regulations brought accountability for these harmful impacts. Today, we should exercise the same right to insist tech companies uphold democratic values in the algorithms they build and send out into the world to make decisions about our lives. The Algorithmic Accountability Act could bring us even closer to holding these companies accountable.

[Source]: Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University [slate.com]

What are the chances of such an act becoming the law ?

Original Submission