Union Veterans Council Calls for Transparency and Due Process in VA’s Use of AI for Claims Auditing

The Union Veterans Council (UVC), AFL-CIO, released a statement this week addressing the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) plans to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to review over one million Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs).

While the VA has stated the initiative is intended to improve integrity and identify fraud, Romanovich expressed concern regarding the potential for unintended consequences on veteran due process and the overall mission of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).

"We recognize the importance of maintaining the integrity of the benefits system," said Craig Romanovich, Executive Director of the Union Veterans Council. "However, the implementation of AI must not come at the expense of transparency or the rights of individual veterans. When we begin treating the VBA’s obligations as a budgetary line item to be managed by algorithms, we risk losing sight of the service and sacrifice those benefits are meant to honor." Read more here.