Civil Rights and Technology

New computer-driven technologies are rapidly reshaping modern society. Advanced technologies have the potential to reduce discrimination. But these same technologies, when not used responsibly, can also amplify discrimination in ways that are hard to detect. The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) is committed to supporting innovation by helping to prevent and eliminate discrimination in New Jersey and addressing the risks that automated decision-making tools can pose. That is why DCR has launched its Civil Rights and Technology Initiative, which houses DCR’s Innovation Lab and DCR’s Algorithmic Fairness Project.

Civil Rights Innovation Lab

Through the Civil Rights Innovation Lab, DCR is leveraging innovation responsibly within our own work to advance DCR’s mission to prevent, address, and remedy discrimination across New Jersey. The Innovation Lab will be working on developing technology and tools to enhance our enforcement, outreach, and public education work across the State. This includes improving the complaint process, aiding in investigations and enforcement work, and updating internal policies and procedures to help the Division better serve all New Jerseyans.

Algorithmic Fairness Project

Through the Algorithmic Fairness Project, DCR is addressing the risks of discrimination and bias-based harassment from the use of advanced technologies. DCR will address how the use of different automated decision-making tools in housing, employment, places of public accommodation, credit, and contracting may violate New Jersey’s civil rights laws, and how covered entities can use these tools responsibly and mitigate that risk.

What’s New?

In 2024 DCR issued a public request for information on AI-powered tools that can help us find discriminatory advertisements in aid of DCR’s enforcement work: https://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/WebScrapingRFI-792024.pdf.

DCR will be developing external partnerships to develop a blueprint for deploying AI-powered tools specifically geared for the unique needs of our individual complaint process—so that DCR can better serve members of the public.

On January 9, 2025, DCR published Guidance on Algorithmic Discrimination, which addresses discrimination from the use of advanced technology and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

Join us on January 16, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. for a panel discussion on responsible innovation, civil rights, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Register Here.

Find additional information on the event’s flyer.

FAQ

What is algorithmic discrimination?

Algorithmic discrimination is discrimination that results from the use of automated decision-making tools.

An automated decision-making tool is any technological tool, including but not limited to, a software, system, or process that is used to automate all or part of the human decision-making process. Automated decision-making tools include technologies at different levels of advancement, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning models, traditional statistical tools, and decision trees.

Who is impacted by algorithmic discrimination?

Everyone! Automated decision-making tools are used in all parts of modern society.

Employment: job advertising; resume review; hiring decisions; performance reviews; promotion, demotion, and firing decisions

Housing: housing advertising; tenant screening; mortgage approval; mortgage terms; location of houses shown; touring housing facilities

Schools: monitoring students’ computer use; filtering and blocking content available to students; predicting students’ likelihood of graduation; aiding in disciplinary decisions

Health Care Providers: making diagnoses; deciding the type of care a patient receives; prescribing medications; allocating resources between patients; determining patients’ health risks

Are there protections against algorithmic discrimination in New Jersey?

Yes! The N.J. Law Against Discrimination protects against algorithmic discrimination. To learn more, see our resources.

Learn More

DCR Resources

Guidance Documents

Guidance on Algorithmic Discrimination and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

DCR Trainings

AI and Algorithmic Discrimination

Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are increasingly being used to make decisions that affect key aspects of our lives—for example, who is hired or receives a promotion, who is selected for an apartment rental or obtains a mortgage, and who receives certain medical treatments or obtains insurance coverage. These technologies carry potential benefits for the public. But they can also perpetuate longstanding biases in our society, leading to unfair outcomes for protected groups. This training outlines how the NJ Law Against Discrimination provides protections in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation when the use of AI leads to unfair outcomes, as well as strategies that individuals and companies can deploy to ensure that automated systems are fair, equitable, and minimize bias and discrimination.

Click on a date to register

Feb 3, 2025 | 9:30am-11:30am

Other Resources

New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Task Force, 2024 Report to the Governor, (Nov. 2024)

Join us on January 16, 2025 for a panel discussion on responsible innovation, civil rights, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

Additional Federal Resources

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Select Issues: Assessing Adverse Impact in Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence Used in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Select Issues: Assessing Adverse Impact in Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence Used in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov)
EEOC, The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Use of Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence to Assess Job Applicants and Employees The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Use of Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence to Assess Job Applicants and Employees | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov)
U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Civil Rights in the Digital Age: The Intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Employment Decisions, and Protecting Civil Rights DOJ Journal (justice.gov)
U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Disability Discrimination in Hiring ai-guidance.pdf
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Guidance on AI in Tenant Screening Guidance on Application of the Fair Housing Act to the Screening of Applicants for Rental Housing (hud.gov)
HUD, Guidance on AI in Housing Advertising Guidance on Application of the Fair Housing Act to the Advertising of Housing, Credit, and Other Real Estate-Related Transactions through Digital Platforms (hud.gov)
U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RFM 1.0), Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0)
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights Resource on Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Artificial Intelligence https://www.ed.gov/media/document/avoiding-discriminatory-use-of-ai
NIST, Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework: Generative Artificial Intelligence Profile (NIST AI 600-1), Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework: Generative Artificial Intelligence Profile

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