Disparate impact doctrine has long served as a cornerstone of civil rights enforcement by recognizing that neutral policies can still produce unlawful discrimination in practice, especially when outcomes disproportionately burden protected communities. Recent federal actions, including an executive order directing agencies to deprioritize disparate impact liability and a Department of Justice rule eliminating disparate-impact regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, are consequential for structural protections against discriminatory effects in AI systems. Amid this shifting legal landscape, this panel will discuss this question: is advancing and defending anti-discrimination laws grounded in disparate impact essential to aligning AI systems with civil and human rights?