Conversations towards ethical AI

Experts agree – ethical AI holds the key to innovation

Artificial intelligence offers a huge opportunity for businesses, the economy and society, but significant questions are being raised about the ethical issues surrounding this technology. To truly harness and channel the potential of artificial intelligence, there is a need to build a strong ethical foundation, one that is built on transparency, accountability, and fairness.

Far-reaching impacts

For this edition of Conversations, Towards ethical AI, we spoke to leaders from various industries such as insurance, banking, and pharmaceutical, to academicians from leading institutes including Harvard University, University of Oxford, and MIT, as well as the director of DigitalEurope, an industry association. A number of critical insights emerged:

• AI algorithms need to be both transparent and understandable
• The ethics of AI needs to be a shared responsibility
• There is a need to balance legislation with self-regulation to avoid stifling innovation
• Team diversity is an important tool to tackle bias in AI

What does the future hold?

From concerns over autonomous vehicles to questions regarding what constitutes end-user consent, AI raises as many questions as it does answers. For this reason alone, it requires a solid ethical foundation. But such a foundation need not stifle technological advancement, innovation, or implementation. In fact, it holds the key to unlocking it.