California AI Anti-Discrimination Bill Derailed by Tech Industry

Tech industry concerns helped scuttle a California measure that would have created the nation’s most far reaching rules to combat discrimination by automated tools, which was held back Friday by the bill’s author on the eve of the legislature’s adjournment.

The measure (AB 1018) by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) would target AI discrimination in areas such as employment, finance, and housing. It would require AI developers take steps to check their technologies for bias, such as hiring tools favoring candidates of a certain race. Consumers would be given new rights to correct and appeal automated decisions beginning in ...