Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a key player in many industries and for different aspects of a business, from HR to product development, to the product itself. Its popularity and potential economic interest is only growing, with businesses and organizations intending to profit from its seemingly endless capabilities. For example, increased productivity and global greenhouse gas emission reduction are two advantages that the European Parliament’s Think Tank 2020 have identified with the use of AI. However, with innovation also come several risks, directly followed by attempts of mitigation in the forms of guidance, non-binding frameworks and in some cases, regulations. Appointing a Data Officer is one way to get support in assessing the risks, navigating and understanding the frameworks and complying to regulatory requirements and the intersection of AI and ethics.
Risks of using AI
Although the use of AI shows a great deal of potential, it has also been proven to cause a number of harms. For example, the Future of Privacy Forum 2017 identified the possibility of two main categories of harm: individual and collective/societal harms. These are further subdivided into whether they are deemed unfair or downright illegal. Categories of examples are also identified e.g. loss of opportunity, including mostly instances of discrimination, such as the case of the Amazon AI tool, resulting in employment discrimination for women. In addition to harm to the person, AI could also cause harm to the environment due to the high consumption of energy, and organizational harms to those companies that might incur penalties, financial losses and a damage to reputation due to the unlawful or wrong use of AI systems.
Mitigating the risks
Each risk identified above might have its own individual mitigation strategy. However, one all-encompassing way to ensure that an AI system is developed or used causing the least amount of harm possible is building trustworthy and ethical AI from the get-go, and in turn, only use systems guaranteed to be ethical and trustworthy.
A common problem with AI and its associated risk is the fact that it might operate as a black-box, without any transparency and/or fairness in its decision making and ultimately, its output. Overtime, a multitude of supervisory bodies and organizations have developed frameworks and standards in order to define what it means for an AI system to be ethical.
Ethical AI
There are a multitude of frameworks that highlight what is required for an AI system to be ethical. Some of these include, the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, the Council of Europe’s Report “Towards Regulation of AI Systems”, the NIST guidance and the OECD AI Principles, amongst many others. Taking the latter as an example, the list of principles to uphold in order to ensure that an AI system is operating ethically include:
- Inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being,
- Human-centered values and fairness,
- Transparency and explainability,
- Robustness, security and safety, and
- Accountability.
In order to follow these principles, an organization needs to consider, among others:
- Establishing policies and procedures in order to ensure legal review of the development and/or use of the AI system, ensuring fairness, transparency and accountability. For example, policies that cover unfair bias.
- Implementing principles and processes related to privacy and data protection, such as obtaining consent from individuals whose data is processed by AI, indicating this information in the privacy notice, implementing technical safeguards for the data etc., ensuring transparency and security.
- Ensuring the quality and integrity of data through the implementation of a data governance system, as it relates to the data used to train the models.
This is also only based on ethical frameworks and guidance published by international bodies and organizations. Additional legal requirements are also anticipated in this regard, especially within the EU market, in light of the EU AI Act, which has been passed and set to come into force starting August 1st, 2024. Organizations have, therefore, a long way to go to prepare for ensuring that their AI system, or one they are using, is up to code with these requirements and ethical principles.
Efficiently operating an ethical AI system
Navigating all the required best practices, guidance and soon-to-come legally binding regulations can be a daunting task, especially on top of developing and/or utilizing new AI systems. Many departments need to be involved in the process of ensuring that policies and procedures are in place, that they are implemented in practice and monitored to ensure they actually have the intended effect of creating and/or utilizing AI systems in the most ethical way possible.
Adding these requirements on top of existing regulations related to privacy, data protection, information security, and data management, means adding additional load to individuals responsible for the management of compliance. However, TechGDPR can support lightening that load by entrusting it with your compliance needs and appointing it as your externally-sourced Data Officer.
A Data Officer merges the roles in data protection, compliance, ethics, and privacy into one dynamic position. This role also transcends traditional boundaries, ensuring your organization’s data practices adhere to legal standards like GDPR and CCPA, while aligning with ethical guidelines, especially in AI. With a Data Officer, organizations are able to navigate complex data landscapes with ease, transforming data challenges into strategic opportunities.
What the Data Officer can do to ensure ethics are always considered in the use of AI
The Data Officer service by TechGDPR is designed to provide your organization with the expertise and support necessary to navigate the stringent requirements in using personal data, Artificial Intelligence and other EU-based data requirements by integrating responsibilities in data protection, compliance, ethics, and privacy into a multifaceted role.
This position ensures that organizations’ data practices comply with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, while also adhering to ethical standards, particularly in AI. In fact, our service provides comprehensive supervision over AI ethics and regulatory compliance, ensuring that your AI implementations adhere to the highest standards of responsibility and legality, such as the ethical regulatory requirements of the EU AI Act.
TechGDPR continuously keeps up-to-date with and makes use of guidelines and assessments provided by supervisory authority such as the pilot Trustworthy AI Assessment List by Spain’s AEPD, which includes sections assessing explainability, non-discrimination, environmental sustainability and accountability, amongst others, covering all relevant principles of Ethical AI as listed in the previous paragraphs. Therefore, as a Data Officer, it is the best position to understand and assess all regulatory requirements related to the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Conclusion
While AI presents immense opportunities for businesses, it also brings significant risks that require careful management. Ensuring ethical and trustworthy AI systems is crucial to mitigating potential harms, including discrimination, environmental impact, and regulatory penalties. Organizations can navigate this complex landscape by adhering to established ethical frameworks and leveraging the expertise of TechGDPR as a Data Officer, who can integrate compliance, data protection, and ethical considerations. By doing so, businesses not only comply with emerging regulations, but can also position themselves as responsible and forward-thinking leaders in the AI space.