Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 8 april 2019
Real or artificial? Tech titans declare AI ethics concerns

By MATT O'BRIEN and RA-
CHEL LERMAN
Associated Press
The biggest tech compa-
nies want you to know that
they're taking special care
to ensure that their use of
artificial intelligence to sift
through mountains of data,
analyze faces or build vir-
tual assistants doesn't spill
over to the dark side.
But their efforts to assuage
concerns that their ma-
chines may be used for ne-
farious ends have not been In this March 21, 2019 photo a robot called "Pepper" is posi- In this Jan. 5, 2019, file photo people stand in front of the Google
universally embraced. tioned near an entrance to a Microsoft Store location, in Boston. tent during preparations for CES International in Las Vegas.
Some skeptics see it as Associated Press
mere window dressing by
corporations more interest- board last week. even met with Pope Francis cal implications of using the to make sure they show
ed in profit than what's in "It's become clear that in earlier this year to discuss company's AI technology themselves, and the public,
society's best interests. the current environment, industry ethics. Amazon re- to analyze drone video. that they've tried their best
"Ethical AI" has become (the council) can't function cently announced it is help- And after more than 2,400 to build products the right
a new corporate buzz as we wanted," the com- ing fund federal research Google employees signed way before releasing them.
phrase, slapped on internal pany said in a statement. into "algorithmic fairness," a petition calling for James "It's not just the right thing to
review committees, fancy That environment is one of and Salesforce employs to be taken off the board, do, it's the thing they need
job titles, research projects increasing concern that an "architect" for ethical AI Google scrapped the to do," she said. Bryson said
and philanthropic initia- the corporate AI ethics practice, as well as a "chief board altogether. Employ- she was hopeful Google
tives. The moves are meant campaigns lack teeth. ethical and human use" ees said James has made actually wanted to brain-
to address concerns over "I think (Google's decision) officer. It's hard to find a past comments that were storm hard problems and
racial and gender bias reflects a broader public brand-name tech firm with- anti-trans and anti-immi- should find another way to
emerging in facial recogni- understanding that ethics out similar initiatives. grant and should not be on do so after the council dis-
tion and other AI systems, involves more than just cre- It's a good thing that com- an ethics panel. The Heri- solved.
as well as address anxiet- ating an ethics board with- panies are studying the is- tage Foundation did not It's unclear what Google
ies about job losses to the out an institutional frame- sue and seeking perspec- respond to a request for will do next. The company
technology and its use by work to provide for ac- tives on industry ethics, said comment. said its "going back to the
law enforcement and the countability," AI researcher Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Google had also faced drawing board" and would
military. Ben Wagner said. Allen Institute for Artificial dissent from its chosen find other ways of getting
But how much substance Google's original initia- Intelligence, a research or- councilmembers. Alessan- outside opinions.
lies behind the increasingly tive fell into a tech indus- ganization. But ultimately, dro Acquisti, a professor at Wagner said now would
public ethics campaigns? try trend that Wagner calls he said, a company's CEO Carnegie Mellon University, be the time for Google to
And who gets to decide "ethics-washing," which he is tasked with deciding announcing on Twitter he set up ethics principles that
which technological pur- describes as a superficial what suggestions on AI eth- was declining the invita- include commitments they
suits do no harm? effort that's mostly a show ics to incorporate in busi- tion. He wrote that he is de- must stick to, external over-
Google was hit with both for the public or lawmakers. ness decisions. voted to grappling fairness sight and other checkpoints
questions when it formed a "It's basically an attempt "I think overall it's a positive and inclusion in AI but this to hold them accountable.
new board of outside ad- to pretend like you're do- step rather than a fig leaf," was not the "the right forum Even if companies keep
visers in late March to help ing ethical things and using he said. "That said, the for me to engage in this im- setting up external boards
guide how it uses AI in prod- ethics as a tool to reach an proof is in successful imple- portant work." He declined to oversee AI responsibil-
ucts. But instead of winning end, like avoiding regula- mentation. I think the jury is to comment further. ity, government regulation
over potential critics, it tion," said Wagner, an as- still out on that." One expert who had com- will still be needed, said Liz
sparked internal rancor. A sistant professor at the Vi- The impact artificial intelli- mitted to staying on the O'Sullivan, a tech worker
little more than a week lat- enna University of Econom- gence can have on society council is Joanna Bryson, who left AI company Clari-
er, Google bowed to pres- ics and Business. "It's a new has never been more clear, associate professor in com- fai over the company's work
sure from the backlash and form of self-regulation with- Etzioni said, and compa- puting at the University of in the Pentagon's Project
dissolved the council. out calling it that by name." nies are reacting to studies Bath. Maven — the same project
The outside board fell Big companies have made about the power of recom- A self-described liberal, that Google dropped after
apart in stages. One of the an increasingly visible effort mendation algorithms and she said before the dissolu- its employees protested.
board's eight inaugural to discuss their AI efforts in gender bias in AI. tion that it makes sense to O'Sullivan is wary of boards
members quit within days recent years. But as Google's attempt have political diversity on that can make suggestions
and another quickly be- Microsoft, which often tries shows, discussing the issues the panel, and she didn't that companies are under
came the target of protests to position itself as an in- in the public eye also in- agree with those who think no legal obligation to stick
from Google employees dustry leader on ethics and vites public scrutiny. it's just for show. to.
who said her conservative privacy issues, published Google employees have "I just don't think Google is "Every company of that size
views don't align with the its principles around devel- had more success than that stupid," Bryson said. "I that states they're interest-
company's professed val- oping AI, released a short other tech workers at de- don't think they're there just ed in having some sort of
ues. book that discussed the manding change at their to have a poster on a wall." oversight that has no abil-
As thousands of employ- societal implications of the company. The internet She said, however, that ity or authority to restrict or
ees called for the removal technology and has called search behemoth dropped companies like Google restrain company behavior
of Heritage Foundation for some government regu- a contract with the Pen- and Microsoft do have a seems like they're doing it
President Kay Coles James, lation of AI technologies. tagon after employees real concern about liabil- for the press of it all," she
Google disbanded the The company's president pushed back on the ethi- ity — meaning they want said.q