Ensuring AI benefits everyone, tech must have a diverse pipeline

Aug 3, 2019News

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is an integral part of our daily lives, work, and existence. AI-driven medical diagnostics alert doctors to early warning signs of diseases and conditions, allowing them to provide better treatment for patients and save lives. AI improves the way companies, governments, and other organizations solve the world’s most difficult cybersecurity problems, keeping sensitive networks and data safe. It enables banks and card networks to monitor large volumes of financial transactions and more efficiently identify fraud – and alert consumers in real time. AI helps individuals qualify for credit cards, loans, and mortgages through risk assessments of customers without existing credit, expanding financial opportunities for those who might otherwise be left out.

While the potential benefits of AI technologies are enormous, it is impossible to fully predict the future impact. We know the troubling implications of reported bias in facial recognition technology and in the criminal justice system, for example. Given the reach of AI and its significant life-altering implications – particularly when the civil liberties and freedoms of individuals are at stake – we must address the complex issues the technology presents, including mitigating bias, inequity, and other potential harms. That’s why it is incumbent upon industry, policymakers, educators, and communities to work together to ensure AI is built and deployed for the benefit of everyone.

The original article can be found here.

To promote AI technology for helping everyone achieve well-being and happiness, the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) established the Artificial Intelligence World Society (AIWS) for the purpose of ethical norms and practices in the development and use of AI to serve and strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.