MIT AI Risk Repository · Risk Category · 38.02.00
Bias and fairness
Description
"Participants were concerned that AI systems might perpetuate current prejudices and discrimination, notably in hiring, lending and law enforcement. They stressed the importance of designers creating AI systems that favour justice and avoid biases. The possibility that AI systems may unwittingly perpetuate existing prejudices and discrimination, particularly in sensitive industries such as employment, lending and law enforcement, raises ethical concerns about AI as well as bias and justice issues (Table 1). Because AI systems are trained on historical data, they may inherit and reproduce biase
From Ethical Issues in the Development of Artificial Intelligence: Recognizing the Risks (Kumar2023), as extracted by the MIT AI Risk Repository (CC BY 4.0).
Classification
- Causal entity
- AI
- Intent
- Unintentional
- Timing
- Other
Subdomain definition: Unequal treatment of individuals or groups by AI, often based on race, gender, or other sensitive characteristics, resulting in unfair outcomes and representation of those groups.
Real-world incidents in this subdomain
- DOGE Reportedly Relied on Unvetted ChatGPT Outputs in Canceling National Endowment for the Humanities Grants
- Sora Video Generator Has Reportedly Been Creating Biased Human Representations Across Race, Gender, and Disability
- Meta AI Characters Allegedly Exhibited Racism, Fabricated Identities, and Exploited User Trust
- Alleged AI-Generated Photo Alteration Leads to Inappropriate Modifications in Speaker's Conference Picture
- Algorithmic Bias in French Welfare System Allegedly Discriminates Against Marginalized Groups
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) AI Systems Allegedly Discriminate Against Single Mothers