AI is a mega-theme that can create significant value
across business sectors. It
could contribute up to USD 15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030 – USD
6.6 trillion from increased productivity and USD 9.1 trillion from consumption
effects.
While the technology holds tremendous potential, it has a
problem with impartiality. If not tackled, this could continue to hinder
efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion.
At its core, AI algorithms train on specific datasets and
find solutions for real-world problems. As society and organisations
increasingly adopt algorithmic decision-making, we must be cognizant of the harm
that could arise from algorithmic bias.
Exhibit 1: Automated decision-making using sensitive data such as information on race, gender or familial status can affect individuals’ eligibility for housing, employment, or other core services – the table lists the various spheres of life where automated decision-making can cause injury and notes whether each sort of harmful effect is illegal or unfair
Source: www.gendershades.org
Why do bias related issues related surface with AI?
There are several instances of AI-powered systems acting in
a discriminatory manner. In one of the most viral examples, a
prominent credit card issuer set a woman’s credit limit 20x lower than that of
her husband, even though she had better credit scores and a similar financial
history.
This brings up a key issue: although the central goal of
an optimisation algorithm is not to solve for societal factors, it is critical
to understand how the algorithm makes decisions, the input factors it uses and
their impact on the final outcome. Serendipitous discovery can take you only so
far.
The data sets used to train an AI algorithm influence the
efficacy of decision-making. Facial recognition technology, for example, has
been found to do more poorly on darker-skinned individuals as image data used
for training is skewed towards lighter-skinned individuals.
The results from the gender shades project,
which evaluates the accuracy of gender-based products using AI for computer
vision, show that facial recognition accuracy is at its worst for dark-skinned
females.
What steps are regulators taking to make AI-based algorithms fairer?
The concept of fairness itself is rooted in societal norms,
and the trade-offs that people are willing to accept depend on values espoused
in the society. In the most recent example, contact tracing, which would have
been considered a major privacy violation in the pre-pandemic era, is now
widely accepted as the norm given the societal health benefits. Thus, the
context is critical when considering issues around gender, ethnicity, age,
privacy, etc.
That said, it is essential to have a framework of expected
standards when developing AI algorithms and regulatory bodies have started to
weigh in on the issue.
The Algorithmic
Accountability Act in the US requires periodic assessments of high-risk
systems that involve personal information or make automated decisions such as
systems that use AI or machine learning. High-risk systems are those that may
contribute to inaccuracy, bias or discrimination or facilitate decision-making
about sensitive aspects of consumers’ lives by evaluating consumer behaviour.
In the EU, the Digital
Services Act includes provisions for an ethics framework for AI as well as
a future-oriented civil liability framework to help adjudicate AI related
issues.
What steps can developers take to eliminate bias in AI-based algorithms?
Given the known issues with AI-based algorithms, developers
need to think through the project intent, the impact of system design and
possible limitations linked to data availability.
The intent of any new project must
be a key consideration. A thorough assessment may provide insights into the
unintended consequences and basic human ethical values that could be impacted.
For example, in a
study published in 2018, algorithms were trained to distinguish the faces
of Uyghur people, a predominantly Muslim minority ethnic group in China, from
those of Korean and Tibetan ethnicity. This raised concerns in the scientific
community as such studies could be used to train surveillance algorithms.
When evaluating the design and output of AI algorithms,
developers must assess correlation –
the movement of one variable with the other – and causation (cause and effect). The image below depicts how
correlation could imply inaccurate linkages.
For AI algorithms, it is critical to identify the
variables affecting the outcome and any relationship between them to ensure
that biases is not encoded into the decision tree.
Exhibit 2: Explaining correlation and causation
Source: http://sundaskhalid.medium.com
Finally, the output of any AI algorithm is as good as the
input data set. In many cases, good data sets are limited outside
of the majority sample. Several data
de-biasing techniques exist today and many show promising results in
reducing bias. However, we must understand the limitations of any technique
based on information we have today, and must continuously test and monitor the
output samples.
Conclusion
In summary, AI has the potential to provide innovative ways to enable progress on environmental and social issues as well as human welfare. We need, however, to take a step back before we build a system that mirrors the diversity and inclusion issues encountered in the real world. We should be using the latent power of AI to aim for better than the status quo.
Also read:
More on sustainability
Any views expressed here are those of the author as of the date of publication, are based on available information, and are subject to change without notice. Individual portfolio management teams may hold different views and may take different investment decisions for different clients. The views expressed in this podcast do not in any way constitute investment advice.
The value of investments and the income they generate may go down as well as up and it is possible that investors will not recover their initial outlay. Past performance is no guarantee for future returns.
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Some emerging markets offer less security than the majority of international developed markets. For this reason, services for portfolio transactions, liquidation and conservation and conservation on behalf of funds invested in emerging markets may carry greater risk.
[1] Also read Focusing on the ‘S’ in ESG – How disclosure and action can aid diversity on Investors’ Corner
Source: https://investors-corner.bnpparibas-am.com/investing/addressing-bias-in-artificial-intelligence/
