Artificial intelligence could discriminate and companies would get away with it – experts explain why Hong Kong laws need to catch up
If AI prevented recruitment of pregnant woman, company could claim they were not liable 'because robots are not covered by sex discrimination ordinance’
Hong Kong is lagging behind in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) systems and needs to update laws and regulations to protect people when AI is used, according to industry and legal experts.
Rowan McKenzie, employment legal expert at multinational law firm Baker McKenzie, warned that the rapid emergence of AI technology would require regulatory and legal frameworks to deal with issues that may arise from the increased use of AI.
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McKenzie used the example of an AI system operated by an employer to recruit people that discriminated against a candidate. There is currently no law or regulation that determines who would be responsible for its actions.
“In Hong Kong, if an employer shows that it took all reasonable steps to prevent all discrimination occurring, that is a defence,” McKenzie said.
“But if a defence by the employer is, ‘I bought state-of-the-art AI system ... I’ve done everything I’ve had to do, why should I be responsible?’ ... in Hong Kong these are some of the question we have to look at.”
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If an AI system discriminated against a pregnant woman because she would not be optimal for the workforce because of her requiring maternity leave, an employer could claim they were not “vicariously liable because that was done by a robot and robots are not covered by the sex discrimination ordinance”, Susan Kendall, Baker McKenzie dispute resolution lawyer, said.