AI engineering glossary · AI ethics law product
What is protected attribute?
Protected attribute (also called sensitive attribute, protected characteristic): A personal characteristic, such as gender, caste, religion, race, age or disability, on which discrimination is prohibited or ethically unacceptable in decisions like hiring or lending. Which attributes are legally protected varies by country. Fairness audits compare model outcomes across the groups defined by these attributes.
Protected attribute: an example
An audit of a loan-scoring model splits approval rates by gender and religion to see whether any group is treated markedly worse.
Related terms
More AI ethics law product terms
- Proxy variable
- Pseudonymization
- Purpose limitation
- Re-identification
- Representation bias
- Responsible AI
- Retention rate
- Right of access
Where you learn it
Protected attribute is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.