Anti-Discrimination Law, Intersectionality & AI: What Are the Challenges for the Future?

The essay examines algorithmic discrimination through the lens of Kimberle Crenshaw’s intersectional theory, with particular attention to the challenges posed by proxy discrimination in the era of artificial intelligence. The analysis highlights how automated decision-making systems, while designed to optimize prediction and efficiency, may reproduce or amplify existing social inequalities by relying on biased training datasets or latent correlations between neutral variables and protected characteristics. After situating the phenomenon within the broader framework of antidiscrimination law, the article addresses the limits of traditional legal categories – direct and indirect discrimination – in capturing the specificities of AI-derived discrimination, especially in its intersectional dimensions.