In a significant development for the field of artificial intelligence, Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, announced a noteworthy victory in the realm of American AI supremacy. This triumph follows the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) intervention in a lawsuit targeting a contentious Colorado law. The law in question prohibits “algorithmic discrimination” but controversially allows exceptions for algorithms that promote “diversity” or address “historic discrimination.” This prompted AI company xAI to file a lawsuit on April 9, arguing the statute’s unconstitutionality.
Speaking with – News political editor Bradley Jaye, Dhillon revealed details on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent success at getting the state of Colorado to agree not to enforce SB24-205, which requires AI developers and deployers to satisfy certain disclosure, reporting, and prevention requirements when creating algorithm products designed for services like mortgage lending, student admissions, and job-candidate selection.
The DOJ’s involvement marks a pivotal moment, as it is the first instance of the department intervening in a case concerning state regulations on AI. Dhillon’s team joined forces with xAI, challenging the law by asserting that mandating AI to incorporate state-enforced discrimination could lead to adverse outcomes.
Dhillon highlighted the role of the Civil Rights Division, explaining its duty to “protect American citizens and even American companies from discrimination based on impermissible criteria such as race and gender.” She criticized Colorado’s approach, which she claims compels companies and municipalities to adjust algorithms to achieve outcomes that reflect demographic diversity. According to her, this approach was not only unnecessary but also prohibited by federal law.
“This is not required by law,” Dhillon emphasized. “In fact, it’s prohibited by federal law. Worse still, the statute allows for discrimination if it aims to remedy past injustices. Such provisions stifle innovation and are illegal under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Beyond the Fourteenth Amendment concerns, Dhillon pointed out that xAI’s case also hinges on First Amendment grounds. She argued that the law effectively forces companies to engage in certain speech to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals, which could further complicate the legal landscape for AI innovation.
In addition to violating the Fourteenth Amendment, Dhillon noted that xAI also has First Amendment arguments against the bill, “because, effectively, the state is compelling it to utter certain speech in furtherance of these DEI goals.”
“We’re not arguing that because the government doesn’t have that obligation, but we’re stepping in to protect American citizens and American companies,” she explained, before revealing the success of her efforts on Friday.
“We had a great result yesterday,” Dhillon announced, recounting how Colorado “agreed to not enforce the law against xAI” within just a couple of hours of the DOJ intervening.
“And by the evening, before we went to bed, we had Colorado agree to not enforce it against anybody until they send it back to the legislature to fix it,” she explained. “So it’s pretty much a total win for American consumers and companies, and the first instance of the United States Department of Justice stepping in on an AI case to really protect this innovation and protect Americans from discrimination by AI algorithmic manipulation.”
Highlighting why civil rights work should be “important” to people on the right side of the political aisle, Dhillon told Jaye that conservatives “have come to look at civil rights as something that’s been weaponized against Americans, but civil rights are for all Americans.”
“So what we’re doing in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is exactly that — we’re standing up for all Americans, like in this xAI case.”
Directing her attention to fans of – News Saturday, Dhillon said, “If anyone here listening is a lawyer, and particularly if they’re an experienced lawyer, but even if they’re a brand-new lawyer, we’re hiring at the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.”
“And if civil rights isn’t your thing, I can tell you that we’re hiring in U.S. Attorney’s offices, Civil Division, Environmental Division, the Antitrust Division — everybody’s hiring at DOJ,” she continued. “It’s an opportunity to serve your country and then go back to private practice with some great new skills.”
“We need fewer conservative lawyers who just want to play defense, and more of us who have the creativity to go on offense,” Dhillon later added. “This xAI case is a great example of me opening up the news, seeing that something is happening that I can do something about, and going after it. And that’s like a different mentality than many conservative lawyers, [who] are just sort of hired to defend things.”
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