Report Raises New Concerns About Privacy Safeguards for US AI Deployment

A report released today by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence raises new concerns about privacy and human rights safeguards for the use of AI by the federal government. The report to Congress acknowledges that "AI tools present states with greater capabilities to monitor and track their citizens or those of other states" and that AI "increases the risk of human rights abuses or violation of individual privacy[.]" The Commission also calls for AI uses that are "consistent with constitutional principles of due process, individual privacy, equal protection, and non-discrimination." But the report criticizes the EU's "privacy-first approach" to AI, calling the GDPR "a significant obstacle in any efforts to standardize privacy regulations," even though many leading US companies have agreed to comply with the privacy law. The Commission's report was drafted almost entirely in secret, in violation of multiple open government laws. In September, EPIC filed suit against the Commission to ensure transparency and public participation. EPIC's case is EPIC v. AI Commission, No. 19-2906 (D.D.C.).