When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) and the opportunities it brings to business, one should be reminded of the immortal words of Voltaire, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Fears around AI taking jobs away from people are rife, and the data yielded from AI systems has a genuine impact on people’s lives, which raises serious questions around ethics, governance, trust, and legality.
And the more business decisions are placed in the hands of AI, the more risks the business need to accept, around areas such as health and safety, security, governance, reputation, as well as human resources.
Today, a handful of powerful organisations harvest a substantial amount of data on a large part of the world’s population. And governments are increasing their digital surveillance efforts under the guise of national security, and individual privacy is the inevitable casualty.
This is why the responsible use of people’s personal data, and the philosophical and ethical nature of this topic, is of great importance now and to future generations.
In order to be responsible and ethical, AI needs to adhere to well-defined guidelines that cover fundamental values, such as individual rights, privacy, non-discrimination, and non-manipulation.
To unpack what is happening in this area, Johan Steyn, chair, AI special interest group, at IITPSA, is presenting on “The latest developments in digital ethics and responsible AI”, at the ITWeb Business Intelligence Summit 2022, to be held from 8 to 10 March, at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, and online.
He will explain why he believes we should forget the tech, and start with an ethical and philosophical agreement. He will also cover the need for governments to legislate and regulate the use of personal data, as well as responsible AI in the business world.
Finally, he will look at the invasive technologies in our future, such as facial recognition, social scoring and the brain-computer interface, and will explain why a societal, collective response is needed.
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