How AI can root out discrimination

Researchers at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI and the university’s RegLab recently published a study demonstrating how large language models can help identify discriminatory local laws. The AI system helped human reviewers identify thousands of local statutes that could violate anti-discrimination laws by treating people differently based on race, gender, and citizenship. HAI fellow Daniel E. Ho, who helped conduct the study, said AI is well-suited for the task because of the sheer scale of local laws. "In San Francisco alone," he said, "the municipal code and its associated resolutions run some 16 million words."