The Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC) has published new rules governing the ethical and transparent use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the agency. The measure, issued through Portaria No. 1.522 and published in the Diário Oficial da União, establishes strict principles to guide how AI solutions can be developed, contracted, and deployed in the ministry’s work.
The regulation sets out six key principles for AI use: respect for human rights and dignity, protection of personal data, transparency and traceability of automated results, effective human oversight, prevention of discriminatory bias, and both institutional and individual accountability. According to the ministry, AI tools must serve only as a complement to human work and cannot replace the technical or legal analysis of staff, except in routine administrative tasks.
The Portaria also prohibits specific practices, such as using AI systems to process sensitive data without legal basis, generating legal effects without human review, conducting discriminatory predictive behavior assessments, or handling confidential data without adequate anonymization.
Oversight will be carried out by the ministry’s Digital Governance Committee, with technical support from the General Coordination of Information Technology (CGTI). This committee will have to approve any AI solutions classified as high risk or those with potential impacts on fundamental rights. Agencies adopting AI must also maintain detailed records of each system, including its purpose, datasets, version, and results, ensuring they are available for audits.
Additionally, any AI system used for triage, analysis, automated service, content suggestion, or decision support must be clearly identified to users in accessible language.
The regulation, signed by Minister Macaé Evaristo, took effect immediately upon publication, making the MDHC one of the first federal bodies in Brazil to adopt formal internal AI governance rules.
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