Health Startup Co-Founder Calls For 'AI Constitution' As Civil Rights 'Can't Exist In A World Of Hidden Calculations'

Vivienne Ming, co-founder and chief scientist of Dionysus Health emphasized the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily lives and advocated for a constitution to regulate its application.

What Happened: Ming highlighted in an op-ed in the Financial Times on Thursday that while AI is making critical life decisions, such as job applications, loan approvals, and university admissions, often unbeknownst to us, it often conflicts with civil rights.

Having firsthand experience with AI in recruitment, Ming notes that AI can make hiring decisions without the knowledge of candidates. She argues that this infringes on civil rights, similar to an interviewer asking inappropriate questions like political affiliation or family planning.

She also voices concerns about AI’s use in other areas, like automatically dismissing underperforming workers and filtering out applicants who might support unionization or exhibit job-hopping tendencies.

Ming delves into AI’s role in the loan application process, which she says is already challenging for most people. She cautions that dreams of home ownership or small business funding could be shattered by an algorithm designed to maximize financial returns for the lender.

In the healthcare sector, Ming alerts about the potential for bias in AI-driven diagnostic tools. She also expresses concerns about the use of algorithms in legal proceedings, arguing that they could compromise the right to a lawyer and judicial review.

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“AI needs a constitution — or more accurately, we need a constitution that defines access to artificial intelligence acting solely on our behalf as a civil right.”

“AI can do wonderful things. But civil rights can't exist in a world of hidden calculations. Just as with a lawyer or doctor, we must have AI that acts in our self-interest,” she said.

Why It Matters: The call for AI regulation is not new. The European Union led the way by endorsing the world's first comprehensive regulatory framework for AI in March.

In the U.S., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently announced plans to introduce a legislative roadmap for AI regulation in May.

However, concerns about over-regulation stifling innovation have been raised by figures such as musician and tech entrepreneur Will.i.am.

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