Artificial intelligence is no longer a plot device in science fiction movies. As the influence of AI becomes ever greater on nearly every industry on the planet, businesses must decide on their priorities within this technological revolution.
Between changes to casinos and other sectors worldwide, AI is set to reshape the way people do business.
AI is vital to the many systems in place in major countries: helping with customer service, making financial choices, driving autonomous vehicles, and informing healthcare decisions.
The problem is that artificial intelligence does not have any ethics or morality, which is why companies may have concerns about the implications of AI on marginalized communities around the world.
Below are some reasons why ethical AI matters for your business.
What are ethics in AI?
People ask many questions when they hear the words ethics and AI in the same sentence. Artificial intelligence is designed to make logical decisions, which means ethics may not necessarily play a part in its choices.
AI ethics is a code of conduct that must govern the way that AI behaves in various settings. The artificial intelligence program must act in a specific manner when facing an ethical issue.
Ethical AI is slightly different, as it refers to the morals and ethics of making and using AI in the business world. Companies must have a framework for ensuring that any development of AI pertaining to their business happens with morality at the forefront.
One example came from the tech giant Amazon. The trillion-dollar company faced an issue where an AI created to help hire new employees had a significant male bias. Amazon had a history of hiring male candidates over women, which means the AI also followed that philosophy.
Rather than continue to use the AI, which was serving them very well, Amazon chose to discontinue its use. Companies must consider this example and wonder whether the AI products they use in their everyday business actions are ethical and impartial.
AI errors can cause significant damage
People often don’t understand the extent to which a mistake from artificial intelligence can cause problems in the real world. Sometimes the decisions that machines reach are invisible to us, but they have very real implications.
One example is the AI that drives autonomous vehicles. Even though the AI has extensive programming to recognize various situations and the danger posed to people, its decisions are not perfect.
Say the AI is driving a vehicle and following the road rules, but a pedestrian is walking on the road. The pedestrian should not be in that space, which means the AI could keep driving, hitting the person in the process. The AI may perceive its decision as following the rules, with the person at fault. Such an incident could result in a person suffering serious injuries or losing their life.
Can AI commit fraud?
Artificial intelligence is meant to make better decisions than humans in various settings, especially when the variables in play are simple and easy for the computer to understand.
The problem is that people can control AI and tell it what to do, and artificial intelligence does not have free will, which means that a person or company can direct AI to commit serious crimes.
A recent incident involved an artificial intelligence program impersonating the voice of a company CEO, which resulted in an employee stealing up to $243 million through a fraudulent wire transfer.
AI may display gender, race, and age biases
Countless stories exist of artificial intelligence programs displaying a bias against people of a specific gender, race, and age. The Amazon example above illustrates gender bias, while race bias is common among AI programs as well.
Research from a Time Magazine article illustrates how racial bias is common among AI systems made by major tech companies such as IBM and Microsoft. For instance, programs that attempt to classify faces as male or female display a less than one percent error rate for white-skinned individuals, with that error rate soaring to 35 percent for darker-skinned people.
When attempting to create and tweak AI programs ethically, developers and businesses must understand that artificial intelligence is only as unbiased and neutral as the people making these programs. Businesses must commit to developing programs free of gender, race, and age bias across the board.
What can businesses do to adopt ethical AI?
Any business working on artificial intelligence development must have a chief ethics officer who liaises with the AI team during every phase of their work. Leaders also need to be educated on the benefits and challenges of adopting AI in various industries worldwide.
Every company that wishes to leverage AI should list the possible risks of taking such an approach. As an example, a company providing HR services must ensure any AI that assists with their work is free of biases that may impact the ability of people of different races, genders, backgrounds, and ages to find jobs that match their qualifications and experience.
There is a tendency for people to think that creating an AI program to handle a specific task is the only significant part of this process. While that may be the most technically difficult step, ensuring the resulting AI is fair, just, and moral is equally relevant.
Will AI change the world for the better?
Even though artificial intelligence today is nothing like the all-powerful and all-knowing entities in movies and television shows, it is already a force in many businesses.
Major tech companies are putting trillions of dollars into AI research every year, which means advancements are coming in leaps and bounds. AI is set to change the world, and we as a society must decide how.
Businesses will play an essential role in how AI reshapes the world, so considering the ethical implications of artificial intelligence applications is vital.
