KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The American Civil Liberties Union has written a letter and issued a FOIA request to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), asking for clarity about an artificial intelligence tool they use to process SNAP benefit eligibility.
The MDHHS unveiled the use of the tool months ago, touting its ability to target fraud and reduce financial errors.
However, the ACLU does not believe enough has been made public about how the case reading tool is being used or the safeguards in place to ensure people’s benefits are not denied.
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“We just virtually don’t know anything about how the department intends to use the tool, what safeguards are in place to ensure that people’s benefits are not erroneously denied, and how the department is going to be transparent with the public and SNAP beneficiaries about their applications and the use of this new tool,” ACLU of Michigan Legal Director Bonsitu Kitaba-Gaviglio said…