Law Commission of Ontario Document on Human Rights AI Impact Assessment

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) and the Ontario Human Rights Commission have published an AI human rights impact assessment based specifically on Canadian human rights law. 

"The Law Commission of Ontario and Ontario Human Rights Commission have joined together to create an AI impact assessment tool to provide organizations a method to assess AI systems for compliance with human rights obligations. The purpose of this human rights AI impact assessment (“HRIA” or “the tool”) is to assist developers and administrators of AI systems to identify, assess, minimize or avoid discrimination and uphold human rights obligations throughout the lifecycle of an AI system..."

"Bias and discrimination in AI are real and complex. Bias and discrimination can be easy to overlook or ignore. Left unchecked, AI can cause deep and longstanding harm to individuals, communities and organizations. Bias and discrimination can also present economic, legal and public relations consequences for organizations. Assessing for bias and discrimination is not a simple task. As such, it should not be an afterthought or minor consideration but be integrated into every stage of design, development and implementation of AI..."

"This tool is expected to help designers, developers, operators and owners of AI systems to identify and reduce bias and discrimination. The tool is a guide that, when applied carefully and thoughtfully, should help organizations build better AI and help in understanding human rights obligations."