Artificial Intelligence holds a great promise for mankind --- enterprises, education, government, public policy, building knowledge economy, and data driven decision making, we see the emergence of cognitive computing in different walks of life. However, the question of reliable, accountable, and fair artificial intelligence is still far from being answered. Michael McQuade, member of the DIB and VP for research at Carnegie Mellon University, said, "Just because it has reasoning capability, it does not remove the responsibility from people... What is new about AI does not change human responsibility."
Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence is not a hypothetical academic exercise for armchair ethicist, but rather something fundamentally ingrained in modern day algorithms. To address these concerns around ethical AI, the Montreal Declaration for the Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence was recently launched which outlines the following ten principles.
- Well-being: The development and use of artificial-intelligence systems (AIS) must permit the growth of the well-being of all sentient beings.
- Respect for autonomy: AIS must be developed and used with respect for people’s autonomy, and with the goal of increasing people’s control over their lives and their surroundings.
- Protection of privacy and intimacy: Privacy and intimacy must be protected from intrusion by AIS and by data-acquisition and archiving systems.
- Solidarity: The development of AIS must be compatible with maintaining the bonds of solidarity among people and generations.
- Democratic participation: AIS must meet intelligibility, justifiability and accessibility criteria, and must be subjected to democratic scrutiny, debate and control.
- Equity: The development and use of AIS must contribute to the creation of a just and equitable society.
- Diversity inclusion: The development and use of AIS must be compatible with maintaining social and cultural diversity, and must not restrict the scope of lifestyle choices and personal experience.
- Prudence: Every person involved in AIS development must exercise caution by anticipating, as far as possible, the potential adverse consequences of AIS use, and by taking appropriate measures to avoid them.
- Responsibility: The development and use of AIS must not contribute to diminishing the responsibility of human beings when decisions must be made.
- Sustainable development: The development and use of AIS must be carried out so as to ensure strong environmental sustainability of the planet.
I work everyday with clients in finance, healthcare, and other regulated domains where building transparent and ethical AI is of utmost importance. What measures you as a reader see as critical for building fair, transparent, and accountable AI?
