The Importance of Ethical AI In Business
We live in a digital age where there appear to be endless possibilities for technological developments in every field. Social media usage worldwide is expected to reach 4.41 billion people by 2025, cars practically drive themselves, and businesses are improving how they function to improve their operations using technology.
One of these technologies that businesses are harnessing is artificial intelligence (AI). The first AI programming was written in 1951 by Christopher Strachey and has since been used in all walks of life for better and sometimes for worse.
As businesses worldwide embed AI into the way they function and operate, they will continue to push the boundaries of what it is capable of, and with that comes ethical concerns. With that in mind, all AI in business must be responsible for ensuring ethical elements are implemented into the business.
By doing this, the business can enjoy the many benefits of artificial intelligence while ensuring no harm. Read on to learn more about ethical AI in business and how it can be achieved.
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Areas of ethical risks
When it comes to areas of ethical risk, there are three main ones that could potentially negatively impact your company’s image. They are:
- Unethical use cases – This can include things such as calculating divorce probabilities as AI has no place working out something that can potentially damage human emotions.
- Ethics of engineering refers to development and maintenance processes as companies aim to improve their products. An example of bad ethics of engineering was when Apple contractors listened to users’ conversations with Siri to improve its AI capabilities. This was a violation of privacy, and iPhone users were not happy.
- Unethical models – This refers to how AI affects human life. With this, the AI must ensure that no harm comes to humans due to work completed by it.
How to establish ethical AI practices
Businesses can’t get everything right at all times, but when it comes to AI, there are a lot of good practices that can be embedded into the business’s operations to ensure no harm comes from this advanced technology. These practices include:
- Reduce bias – For AI to be ethical, it must be accurate, and that is done by eliminating discrimination.
- Ensure assumptions on data are accurate – To do this, you must constantly interrogate your assumptions.
- Engage with affected people – If this technology has affected someone, your company has a responsibility to set things right and learn. Ask them what has happened, rectify the situation and implement what you learned into your future AI practices.
If you’re thinking about implementing AI into your business, get in touch with reliable technology experts to ensure you get it the right first time.
