Consumer Reports, along with allies from the Colorado AFL-CIO, Center for Democracy and Technology, ACLU Colorado, and Towards Justice, explained in a two-pager for legislators what the Colorado AI Act currently requires and the tweaks that must be made to make it work well for workers and consumers.
Companies increasingly use hidden algorithms to determine who gets hired, who qualifies for loans, who receives medical care, and who gets access to many other key parts of our lives and livelihoods. These systems scrape data from social media profiles, analyze facial expressions, and generate risk scores that can derail careers or deny basic services. Workers and consumers often have no recourse when algorithms reject them using incorrect, biased, or illegally obtained information and often are unaware that AI plays any role in decisions affecting their lives.
Polling shows that voters are hungry for this to change. A Consumer Reports nationally representative survey of more than 2,000 adults in May 2024 found that overwhelming majorities of Americans want explanations and a right to correct for AI-driven hiring decisions. A 2024 Pew Research Survey found Americans are more concerned about the government not doing enough to regulate AI than about it doing too much.
With SB 24-205, Colorado became the first state to listen to its voters on these issues. The law only applies when companies use AI as a substantial factor in a decision that has a significant impact on a Coloradan’s access to key economic opportunities, specifically education, employment, financial or lending services, essential government services, health care, housing, insurance, or legal services. The law requires companies that use such AI decision systems to:
- Provide basic information about the algorithmic decision system
- Allow consumers to correct incorrect information about them used in the decision
- Analyze the AI system for potential biases
- Give workers and consumers an explanation and opportunity for human review for adverse AI-driven decisions.
For more, see the attached document.