Artificial Intelligence – Protective Armour from UNESCO

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pervasive. AI supports the decision-making of governments, the private sector, marketers and many more.

AI Benefits 

On a macro level, AI helps to combat global problems like climate change, world hunger, world poverty (optimizing economic aid); finding covid solutions building inclusive environments and tools for people with disabilities.  Every aspect of marketing can benefit from AI – from messaging, targeting, servicing, adding value, producing, logistics, pricing, presenting news  – even building relationships (see Chinese Girlbot with 465m Boyfriends ) and even AI Avatars like  Lil Miquela building her own business.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

AI Challenges

AI has immense capacity for good. However, AI’s negative impacts are ‘exacerbating an already divided and unequal world’ (UNESCO). ‘AI development should be controlled’ (UNESCO). According to UNESCO we are already seeing:

• increased gender bias and ethnic bias
•  threats to privacy, dignity and agency
• dangers of mass surveillance
• unreliable AI tech in law enforcement

Plus my observation:AI-Created Deep Fakes destroying  democracy along with Super AI Board-Bots Taking Control 

Bias is everywhere. Report it when you see it.

Racially Biased Soap Dispenser

See the AI-driven racially biased soap dispenser

Gender Biased ‘Facts’ on the Internet

Ask your friends ‘who scored the most goals in international football?  Note their answers. Then show them this video.

Remember that name – Christine Sinclair  –  the Canadian who holds the record of scoring the most international goals with  – 185 goals.  Although the internet will tell us Christian Ronaldo 122 goals which is simply incorrect and gender biased.

 

Therefore, ‘AI developments should abide by the rule of law, avoiding harm, and ensuring that when harm happens, accountability and redressal mechanisms are at hand for those affected.’ (UNESCO).

 

World’s 1st Global Agreement on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence 

196 member states have agreed on the Global Standards (requirements) of/for ethics in AI (beyond what tech firms and governments are doing). Here are the four key points:

1. Protecting Data – individuals should all be able to access or even erase records of their personal data. Improve data protection and an individual’s knowledge of, and right to control, their own data. Increases regulatory bodies around the world ability to enforce this.
2. Banning social scoring and mass surveillance – infringe on human rights and fundamental freedoms – accountability must always lie with humans and that AI technologies should not be given legal personality themselves
3. Monitor  Ethical Impact Assessment – to help countries and companies (using AI) to assess the impact on individuals, society and the environment….Independent AI Ethics Officer or other mechanisms to oversee auditing and continuous monitoring.
4. Protecting the environment – AI actors should favour resource-efficient AI methods – be more prominent in the fight against climate change… throughout the AI system life cycle  …  NB data extraction consumes nearly 10 % of energy globally.

 

5 Must-Know AI Observations  

1. AI has proven its value in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic
2. AI can be a powerful tool to address climate change and environmental issues*
3. AI-driven growth is likely to be highly unequal
4. AI contributes to widening existing gender gaps
5. AI cannot be a no law zone

Database form of AI is very good at pattern-recognition, image-recognition, speech-recognition

 

6 AI Questions You Must Ask (and Find Answers)

These questions are mostly drawn from this excellent UNESCO video Do you know AI or does AI know you better?

If we don’t ask ethical questions about AI to scientists, engineers, philosophers, ethics bodies, politicians, law makers, individual friends and colleagues ‘then, it’s only the companies that ask the questions – companies who design (AI) systems to make money’. (UNESCO Video 2021)

1. What is the AI lesson from Frankenstein?
2. Can you leave technology to its own devices?
3. What AI engineering narrative must be changed immediately?
4. When AI recommends decisions, or even takes decisions, on our behalf- who’s responsibility is it? Particularly if things go wrong?
5. Can we learn to educate the algorithms before they take over?
6. What can you do about it?

I will add some suggested answers soon. Meanwhile please do ask the questions, and perhaps post your own answers.

 

Watch This Essential UNESCO  Video (18 mins)

All of the screen-grabs (with text) in this post are from this excellent video. Make sure you find time to watch this video.

UNESCO has introduced a set of Global Standards in the field of AI.

“Computers are for answers. Humans are for questions.” Pablo Picasso

 

References 

Chinese Girlbot with 465m Boyfriends

Super AI Board-Bots Taking Control – AI & Data Crisis Coming?

AI-Created Deep Fakes destroying  democracy – Deep Fakes Advantages and Disadvantages

Lil Miquela – AI driven avatar – AI Uses My Magic Marketing Formula

 

UNESCO REFERENCES   

Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence (unesco.org) – 5 things you need to know about AI;

Sarraf, S. (2021)  UNESCO launches global standard for AI ethics Infoworld 29 Nov

Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence (unesco.org) – 5 things you need to know about AI

UNESCO member states adopt the first ever global agreement on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence: examples of ethical dilemmas (unesco.org)