We Have a Responsibility to Develop Ethical AI

A year ago I was developing “Ethics in AI” curricula for a Computer Science program for teens. This workshop was designed to be able to discuss the dangers of artificial intelligence and how to ensure we are building ethical tech products.

The world at large was already living through 5 months ChatGPT being on the market. We were seeing many of our talented, diverse, colleagues beginning to get laid off in tech. Companies were trying to quickly rewrite their entire business strategy to compete against OpenAI. When you work in tech and a competitor introduces a game-changing new tech product, you are reminded of the term “pivot” once again.

The Ethics in AI workshop I was developing was inspired by Dr. Timnit Gebru and Dr. Joy Buolamwini and included their contributions to the field of AI.

Dr. Gebru is an Eritrean Ethiopian-born computer scientist who works in the fields of AI, algorithmic bias and data mining. She is an advocate for diversity in technology and co-founder of Black in AI, a community of Black researchers working in AI. She is also the founder of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR).

Dr. Buolamwini is a Canadian-American computer scientist and digital activist who founded the Algorithmic Justice League (AJL). AJL works to challenge bias in decision-making software, using art, advocacy, and research to highlight the social implications and harms of artificial intelligence.

Both of these incredible leaders are effectively vocal on addressing the elephant in the room when it comes to AI. They have also had to suffer repercussions for speaking up against the abuse of unethical AI.

And now, United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is working on the DEFIANCE Act, which would be the first federal protection for survivors of deepfake pornography. This type of legislation needs to be implemented as soon as possible to keep up with the technological evolution of these evasive tools.

Women bear the brunt of much of the abuse that happens in tech. When it comes to deepfake images, when it comes to location trackers and harassment, when it comes to other forms of abuse, we tend to not place enough weight on the seriousness of each of these violations. Women deserve privacy, safety and trust when it comes to implementing any type of technological tool. The trust needs to be one of the most key issues companies address when they are moving forward with these new types of risky projects.

If we don’t have the right mix of people at the table making decisions on how to implement these types of tools and algorithms, then we will be in danger of repeating the same mistakes we’ve made when developing other apps with enough influence to convert millions of voters.

In conclusion, the dawn of advanced AI technologies like ChatGPT has highlighted the urgent need for ethical considerations and diversity in tech. As the tech industry evolves and legislation like the DEFIANCE Act emerges (in the US and hopefully Canada soon), prioritizing ethical development and inclusive decision-making is crucial to ensuring technology serves all of humanity fairly and responsibly.