Extract from Isha Marathe’s article “3 Things You Need to Know About ‘Algorithmic Audits'”
In February, two Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced a bill called the Justice in Forensic Algorithms Act of 2024 that seeks to allow defendants access to the source code that make up the algorithms involved in evidence analysis in their criminal proceedings.
Along with prohibiting “the use of trade secrets privileges to allow the defense access to source code,” the proposed bill would also direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create certain guidelines and standards for testing algorithms used by federal law enforcement.
Two iterations of this bill were introduced in 2019 and 2021, but were not successful. The future of the latest version, as well as other efforts to regulate the use of algorithms in the criminal justice system and the broader economy, remains to be seen.
But such efforts are gaining momentum, especially as more government agencies and private companies are using artificial intelligence technologies in courts, legal proceedings, hiring, parole conditions, and more.
