Techstars Lobbies Cause AI To Discriminate Against Minorities

Colorado’s AI protections are supposed to stop discrimination against minorities. Techstars lobbies to fight them.

Techstars publicly supports values like inclusivity and founder-first thinking, so why are they, Brad Feld and David Cohen opposing the Colorado AI standards, which were designed to protect people from algorithmic discrimination?

When accelerators push founders to use AI but fight against accountability for bias, it raises real questions.

If you’re a founder who cares about ethics, you deserve to know who’s on your side.

SB 205 (Colorado’s AI Bill) focuses on AI systems that can impact critical life outcomes — such as employment, housing, healthcare, financial services, and education. These are areas where marginalized communities are most at risk of algorithmic discrimination. So any bill regulating these use cases is fundamentally about protecting civil rights and preventing bias or discrimination.

By lobbying for repeal, not just amendment, the letter is pushing to remove regulations that were designed to prevent harm to vulnerable groups. That’s not a neutral position, even if the framing is economic.

Here’s the full text of their letter: https://lnkd.in/gKihPtXw