Catholic Law Lecturer Bradford Kelley and Catholic University alumnus Lance Casimir recently published an article entitled “The Promise and The Peril: Artificial Intelligence and Employment Discrimination” in the University of Miami Law Review. The article examines the interaction between artificial intelligence (AI) and federal employment antidiscrimination law.

AI is undeniably transforming the workplace. Employers increasingly rely on algorithms to determine who gets interviewed, hired, promoted, developed, disciplined, or fired. If appropriately designed and applied, AI promises to help workers find their most rewarding jobs, match companies with their most valuable and productive employees, and advance diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace. Notwithstanding its positive impacts, however, AI poses new perils for employment discrimination, especially when designed or used improperly.

The article explores the interaction between the use of AI technologies in employment decision- making and federal employment antidiscrimination law. The article surveys the legal landscape including responses taken at the federal level, as well as state, local, and global legislation. Next, the article examines a few legislative proposals designed to further regulate AI as well as several non-legislative proposals. In the absence of a comprehensive federal framework, the article outlines and advances a deregulatory approach to using AI in the context of employment antidiscrimination that will maintain and spur further innovation. Against the backdrop of the deregulatory approach, the article concludes by discussing best practices to guide employers in using AI for employment decisions.