TSU professors call for A.I. legislation to protect against racial bias

By Aswad Walker

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is here to stay, whether we like it or not. The conveniences A.I. affords are both appreciated and at times unnoticed, as A.I. has become so integrated into the tools of our daily operations that we most often don’t know it’s there.

However, with increased reporting on A.I. reflecting the racial biases of its predominantly white programmers, there is cause for concern.

Enter Texas Southern University Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs professors Dr. Michael O. Adams and Carroll Robinson. Adams, who heads TSU’s eMPA (Executive Master of Public Education) program, and Robinson have submitted 2025 A.I. policy recommendations for the Texas Legislature. And each is clear about the importance of such oversight.

“Policy and laws in regard to A.I. are critical for public wellbeing,” said Adams. “The power of A.I. comes with great responsibility. These laws and policies are needed to protect the safety, ethics and fairness in our society.

“Moreover, A.I. policies and laws are needed to shape and foster a culture of accountability and to safeguard the public interest,” added Adams.

The use of A.I. images of actors by Hollywood production companies without compensation for the actors whose likenesses were being used was one of the issues central to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Multiple former Google engineers and executives, including Timnit Gebru and Blake Lemoine, have charged that A.I. exhibits the biases of its predominantly white, male programmers.

It is these realities and others that have led to Adams and Robinson making their policy recommendations.

“The laws currently in existence are insufficient when it comes to regulating the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, including racial bias and discrimination,” said Robinson. “President Joe Biden’s new A.I. Executive Order is a good start, but Congress needs to pass legislation.”

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PROPOSED LEGISLATION

Here are the A.I. public policy recommendations Adams and Robinson submitted to the Texas Legislature, adding their voices to others calling for more oversight:

• Pass legislation to study the potential long-term impact of AI on the Texas economy, out thorough 2075, in the areas of future employment opportunities and losses; entrepreneurship growth or stagnation; small business development or the lack thereof; access to capital; and growth or loss of state revenue.

• Pass legislation to utilize AI to modernize and make the operation of government at the state, county & local levels, including MUDs, TIRZs & other special districts more transparent, effective and cost-efficient to reduce the burden on Texas taxpayers and to free up revenue to invest in improving education and enhancing healthcare services, transportation connectivity, water resources & emergency preparedness.

• Pass legislation to utilize AI to improve public education from Pre-K to College Graduation Rates & Workforce Readiness (with a goal of 75 by 40 to supersede the 60 by 30 plan and even the older Closing The Gap plan).

• Pass legislation to utilize AI to expand the teaching of Dual Credit Courses in Texas High Schools. (Every High School in Texas should become an Early College High School. (See generally research being done by Rice University’s Kinder Institute and the Houston Endorsement’s A New Measure of Educational Success in Texas, Tracking the Success of 8th graders into and through College (2012).

• Pass legislation to create a state advisory group made up of internal and external experts to independently review and evaluate AI algorithms’ ethical/privacy/cybersecurity/& bias and discrimination standards, utilized by state, county, municipalities, ISDs and special districts. (The legislature should maximize, and utilize, the expertise of faculty members at Texas state universities, colleges, community colleges and law schools as a part of developing panels of experts.)

• Pass legislation to prohibit the use of face recognition technologies by state, county, local, college, community college, ISD and special districts law enforcement agencies. NEW ORLEANS STORY

• Pass legislation mandating Texans be compensated for any and all use of their data to train AI algorithms.

• Pass legislation to regulate the use of AI in the healthcare industry as it relates to the diagnosis and prescription of treatments and/or medications.

• Pass legislation to regulate the use of AI to make mortgage loans, small business loans, apartment rental decisions, personal credit rating determinations, government benefits decisions and probation and/or parole decisions to help prevent racial and economic discrimination.

• Pass legislation to enhance protections for the online free speech rights of individuals and employees.