AI offers tremendous opportunities to improve efficiency and decision making, enable more personalised services, and fuel innovation across every industry and every part of society. However, in the public discourse, AI can be a controversial topic. When machines make decisions that affect the lives of human beings and the way vital business and political decisions are made, it is paramount to ensure AI is used in an ethical way.
There is an ongoing and increasing dialogue about the ethical use of AI, and rightfully so. A recent report into the use of artificial intelligence by the U.K. government has warned that there is a need for more transparency about automated decision-making technologies and a better understanding of how AI impacts decision outcomes. This lack of understanding of AI and how it uses data to drive autonomous actions creates a lot of fears which pose barriers to the wider adoption of the technology.
To be able to make the most of the exciting opportunities that AI can offer, we need to build ethical parameters that define the value and purpose of using data at a corporate or government level. Lack of consideration of these issues can result in a misuse of AI.
The dangers of AI misuse
AI misuse can result in the use of the technology for influencing elections, or deepening disparity between wealthy and developing nations and individuals across the world. There is also a danger of introducing AI bias to key public and social services or misusing the technology for ill-managed medical research. There are security implications too. For instance, cybercriminals can use AI to analyse a company’s networks to hack an organisation or individual or to manipulate large amounts of data to influence certain media narratives and create misinformation.
Other ethical concerns around AI include the increased role played by algorithms in decision-making processes in the workplace and how this could impact employees, particularly as new technologies such as the metaverse are becoming increasingly adopted by businesses.
Many of these failings of AI are a result of feeding AI with the wrong type of data or inconsistent information that produces biased results. To minimise such risks, AI needs to be built with the right kind of data and used only within the specific purposes it is intended for and for the use it has been designed for. For instance, one AI model for improving efficiency in one business, may not work well for another just because the data sets for each organisation will be different.
Understanding the wider applications of AI is key
This leads us to more complex questions that need to be tackled to address these challenges. For instance, how can those that develop and sell AI technology ensure that both the creator and the customer can feel moral confidence in AI’s decisions? What are the best practices for embedding ethical decision-making within AI technology?
The answers to these questions are not always black and white, which is why a broader conversation about the role of AI in the hands of any user requires a greater understanding of its capabilities and ethics. Ethics is more than just getting consent for the collection and use of personal data. There are ethical considerations about the use of such data that require important conversations about practical applications, personal privacy, and representation that far outweigh any “logical use” of AI.
To be able to make the most of this technology, businesses and governments will need to evolve the way they use the technology and consider more deeply the ethical implications of AI. Understanding the behind-the-scenes of AI is particularly important for critical services and products such as medicines and healthcare treatments, policy enforcement and security among others. Many of these companies have ethics boards that are responsible for overseeing the ethical implications of new products, policies, and treatments. One may not really care why they see a certain advert on their Facebook feed but may care greatly why a certain medication was chosen for treatment.
Striking the right balance between AI policies and flexibility
As AI becomes more ubiquitous, governance will play an increasing role in defining the ethical parameters of AI and its broader implications. Governing bodies for the ethical use of data will have to understand its breadth and depth and potential uses, not just now but also in the future.
This will enable organisations working with AI to protect individuals and businesses by creating an ethical model for AI use, access and application that spans every sector and area of society. However, achieving this will require a balance between establishing strong AI policies and providing organisations with enough flexibility to be able to innovate and grow within the parameters of these policies.
In conclusion
AI is a technology that is incredibly exciting. But all companies utilising AI should have strong values, transparency and integrity models around its development and application. It’s also important for customers and other stakeholders to be aware of how AI uses its data to drive decision-making, so educating the wider business community about the power of AI is an important step toward identifying and addressing ethical concerns. This means that every organisation or individual developing or using AI should apply an integrity and value model to everything that they do.
