Consumer Reports wholeheartedly supports the intent of H.B. 2094, which aims to ensure that artificial intelligence systems used in high-stakes decisions about consumers are transparent, free of bias, and that Virginians retain some autonomy and recourse.
However, significant loopholes in the current text of the bill will undermine this goal, leading to low compliance and leaving Virginians in the dark. As such, the bill should be substantially strengthened before it is enacted.
CR has several suggestions for how the bill should be amended, including:
- Fixing loopholes in the definitions of ‘high risk AI’ and ‘substantial factor’ so that companies cannot escape responsibility
- Requiring developers to test for disparate impact; prohibiting developers from selling products that produce unjustified disparate impact
- Strengthening anti-discrimination protections
- Removing overbroad exemptions to what companies must disclose
- Clarifying consumer disclosures and removing exemption from consumers’ right to appeal
- Reconsidering overbroad exemptions and removing cure provision
To read more, please see the attached PDF.