Bill will force VA to change suicide prevention algorithm that favors white male markers

The Department of Veterans Affairs would be forced to review an artificial intelligence program that helps directly prevent suicides under the program Bill introduced late last month by Senator Jon Tester.

Tester, a Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, introduced the bill after an investigation by The Fuller Project and The Markup found faculty algorithm priority was given to white male veterans. It also preferred “divorced and male” and “widowed and male” veterans, but gave no distinction to either group of veterans.

Military sexual trauma and intimate partner violence, both connected increased risk of suicide among veterans were not taken into account. The tester’s regulations would require consideration of these factors within 60 days of the bill’s enactment.

The newest row data show a 24 percent increase in the suicide rate among veterans from 2020 to 2021 – about four times the rate among male veterans during this one-year period. It was also almost 10 times greater than the 2.6% increase among women who had never served in the military.

“It is critical that VA considers the additional risk factors women veterans face,” Tester, chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement. Tester, a Democrat from Montana who is in a tight reelection fight that could determine control of the Senate, touted his commitment to veterans during his campaign.

The VA says it is working to update the algorithm to account for risk factors that disproportionately affect women, regardless of proposed regulations. Terrence Hayes, the agency’s press secretary, said in an email earlier this month that the agency considers pregnancy, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, intimate partner violence and military sexual trauma, among other factors.

“VA is constantly working to improve our programs,” Hayes said. “As we update the model, it will be evaluated for performance and bias before implementation.”

In an email, VA spokesman Adam Farina said the agency hopes to update the algorithm in early 2025.

VA officials have previously defended prioritizing white veterans for outreach. They found that the suicide rate among veterans may be rising faster, but the suicide rate among male veterans remains much higher. In a May interview, Matthew Miller, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Agency, said that a history of sexual assault or intimate partner violence in a military relationship was not among the 61 variables used in the algorithm because they were not among the “most influential to us.” be able to predict suicide risk.”

Veterans groups that have been pushing for the VA to update the algorithm welcomed Tester’s legislation and said the agency needs to move faster. “We saw promise,” said Naomi Mathis, deputy legislative director of Disabled American Veterans, which has made improving care for veterans a priority.

Mathis, a former Air Force staff sergeant deployed to Iraq, noticed this in surveysone-third of veterans tell the VA that they engaged in sexual activity against their will while in uniform. “You can’t see them,” she said.

The issue of algorithmic bias has gained traction in recent years, with researchers finding that many artificial intelligence systems systematically favor white men in their functions. Both President Joe Biden and its predecessor Donald Trump has issued implementing regulations to promote transparency and accountability of AI products, which can be difficult given researchers’ increased reliance on systems that purport to learn themselves and create their own processes that may be inexplicable. VA identified over 100 programs covered by these presidential decrees.