Policy makers are showing increasing concern in the fair lending
implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in credit
underwriting. The concerns surrounding AI echo views on credit
scoring and automated underwriting systems when they were first
deployed decades ago. Congress and regulatory agencies are likely
to press financial services providers to better understand the AI
they use and to ensure that its use does not result in unfair
treatment of minorities and other protected groups through the
employment of seemingly neutral criteria that have a
disproportionate impact on protected classes of
consumers.
Recent Congressional Hearing Highlights Risk From the
“Black Box”
On June 26, the newly chartered Artificial Intelligence Task
Force of the House Financial Services Committee held its first
hearing, entitled “Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence:
Where We Are and the Next Frontier in Financial Services.”
Members of Congress and witnesses acknowledged AI’s
