The Fight Against the AI Systems Wrecking Lives
Federal and state governments are now using AI for everything from determining eligibility for welfare benefits to predicting child abuse and criminal activity. Critics say faulty algorithms are ruining people’s lives and leaving victims little recourse.
In Arkansas, former legal aid attorney Kevin De Liban won case after case for people who were denied medical care or other benefits because of artificial intelligence systems.(Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty Images)
As a former legal aid attorney, Kevin De Liban knows President Donald Trump’s plan to double down on artificial intelligence comes with major risks. Over and over, De Liban has seen how automated decisions can ruin people’s lives.
Just before Christmas in 2022, for example, Robert Austin and his daughter were living in his car in El Paso, Texas. As a single father, he had a hard time finding a shelter that would take them both.
He applied for food stamps, temporary aid, and tried to enroll his daughter in Medicaid, so she’d get health insurance from the government. Though they were eligible, his benefits were denied. Austin tried again; this time, the Health and Human Services helpline said the paperwork he’d uploaded had been rejected and he needed to reapply. “They kept asking for the same forms, over and over again,” Austin says. Every time he’d call to try to get to the bottom of things, he ended up “full circle back where [he] began.”
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.