What Organisations Should Know About Building Ethical AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a big impact on businesses across ASEAN. From assisting with process automation and decision making to predicting customer behaviour, AI is changing the way we work.
According to a Salesforce commissioned YouGov survey in Singapore, 86% of managers believe embracing AI is important to their organisation’s ability to survive and stay competitive.
However, only 34% of these managers currently using AI in business processes, or planning to implement AI in the next 12 months, are very confident that they/their organisations understand the potential ethical risks of AI.
Importantly, the survey found that 82% of managers currently using AI believe that organisations using AI should have a designated person for Ethical AI. Yet, only 57% report having someone in such a role.
Only 28% of managers are very confident of their organisations’ ability to implement AI processes and systems responsibly by taking into account privacy and safety of consumers.This demonstrates that while AI can deliver an enormous range of benefits, there are some key ethical issues that must be addressed.
For example, data bias in AI algorithms can lead to discrimination. User safety can be compromised by malicious players. Customer data privacy also needs to be protected.
That’s why infusing ethics into AI policy is vital now, and as the technology evolves.
Edward Santow, Australian Human Rights Commissioner, makes a clear distinction between ethics in AI and the rule of law. Speaking in the Salesforce/Observer Research Foundation Infusing Ethics into AI Policy webinar, he said:
“AI is enabling us to do things we’ve always done, but in powerful new ways. As such, there are already human rights, anti-discrimination, and privacy laws in place that should be the first port of call in determining what you can and can’t do with AI.
“Ethical rules are secondary to the law. Ethics can help us uphold the law and fill the gaps where the law is silent.”
To fill those gaps, organisations must set ethical parameters that govern how they develop and use AI-based technologies. Speaking in the same webinar, Kathy Baxter, Architect, Ethical AI Practice at Salesforce, explained what those parameters look like at Salesforce:
“We need to empower our users. To do so, our AI needs to be inclusive and respect the rights of everyone it impacts. So we created an AI charter that lays out what our AI principles are as a company.
“We believe we must safeguard all the data we are entrusted with and ensure what we are building protects and respects human rights. It must be accountable, and we seek and leverage feedback from our customers and civil society groups. Transparency is also important. We must be clear about how we build our models and explain to our users how our AI makes predictions or recommendations.”
This clear ethical framework must be built into the DNA of the AI design and development process. Baxter explained how this is achieved at Salesforce:
“Salesforce works on the agile development methodology.
