AI is proving itself to be an important tool in tackling some of the biggest issues the world faces today; including coronavirus and climate change. However, some public distrust remains.

“The current pandemic has shown us more needs to be done to speed up the adoption of trusted AI around the world,” said Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the World Economic Forum.

“We moved from guidelines to practical tools, tested and iterated them – but this is still just a start. Now we will be working to scale them to countries around the world.”

The guidelines released today aim to “help society tackle big data problems faster” while also preparing them for future risks. The UK government adopted the guidelines across its various departments.

“The UK is a global leader in AI and I am pleased we are working with the World Economic Forum and international partners to develop guidelines to ensure its safe and ethical deployment,” said Caroline Dinenage, Digital Minister of the United Kingdom.

“By taking a dynamic approach we can boost innovation, create competitive markets and support public trust in artificial intelligence. I urge public sector organisations around the world to adopt these guidelines and consider carefully how they procure and deploy these technologies.”

For the past year, the WEF has worked alongside the UK’s Office for AI; companies such as Deloitte, Salesforce, and Splunk; 15 other countries; and more than 150 members of government, academia, civil society, and the private sector.

“As a trusted AI advisor to governments around the world, we were thrilled to collaborate with the World Economic Forum and the government of the UK in the development of procurement guidelines that help the public sector put AI at the service of its constituents in a manner that is both efficient and ethical,” said Shelby Austin, Managing Partner, Growth & Investments and Omnia AI, Deloitte, Canada.

“As our societies reorganize and make progress in our fight against COVID-19, the need for multi-stakeholder cooperation has never been more apparent. We believe in these joint efforts, and we believe in the power of data-driven decision-making to help our countries recover and thrive.”

The result of the joint effort was the “Procurement in a Box” toolkit which provides guidance from conducting drafting proposals and conducting risk assessments, all the way to purchasing AI solutions and deploying them in a trusted manner.

A proposal for a chatbot allowing executives for the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to obtain answers to data-related questions was used to test the guidelines. DEWA’s chatbot was successful and serves as an early example of how rapid but safe AI deployments can be achieved using the guidelines.

“In an era that will continue to be dominated by the transformative technologies emerging from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, integrating AI into the public sector for everyday use will significantly elevate the performance of government departments,” said Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, the host entity of Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE.

You can find a copy of the Procurement in a Box toolkit here (PDF)

(Photo by Franck V. on Unsplash)

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A group of industry experts were appointed in 2016 to establish guidelines which ensure that AI is developed sensibly.

There are seven key pillars to the EU’s ethical AI strategy:

1. Human agency and oversight
2. Robustness and safety
3. Privacy and data governance
4. Transparency
5. Diversity, non-discrimination, and fairness
6. Societal and environmental well-being
7. Accountability

The EU wants to promote its guidelines on the global stage. It plans on strengthening cooperation with ‘like-minded’ partners such as Japan, Canada, and Singapore, while engaging in dialogue with the G7 and G20.

Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, added:

“Today, we are taking an important step towards ethical and secure AI in the EU. We now have a solid foundation based on EU values and following an extensive and constructive engagement from many stakeholders including businesses, academia and civil society.

We will now put these requirements to practice and at the same time foster an international discussion on AI.”

Some experts have criticised the EU for its strict policies around the collection and processing of data, especially since GDPR came into effect.

Commenting on GDPR’s effect on AI startups for our sister publication IoT News, Digital Law UK Managing Director Peter Wright said:

“You’ve got your Silicon Valley startup that can access large amounts of money from investors, access specialist knowledge in the field, and will not be fighting with one arm tied behind its back like a competitor in Europe.

Very often we hear ‘Where are the British and European Googles and Facebooks?’ Well, it’s because of barriers like this which stop organisations like that being possible to grow and develop.”

While few debate the need for personal data to be protected, large amounts of it are needed for training AI models even if the data is anonymised.

Critics believe the EU’s strict policies will see the continent fall behind competitors such as the US and China; where data protection ranges from more lenient, to practically non-existent.

Afke Schaart, VP and Head of Europe at GSMA, welcomes the EU’s guidelines:

“The powerful combination of AI with 5G and The Internet of Things will transform entire industries and enable new disruptive services. Only with the right conditions will European companies be able to capture the full potential of AI and develop consumer trust in a new era of Intelligent Connectivity.

These guidelines are an important first step towards achieving the objective of unlocking innovation in AI while ensuring that acting ethically does not undermine Europe’s future competitiveness.

Members of the EU’s AI expert group will present their work tomorrow (April 8th) during the third ‘Digital Day’ in Brussels.

deepgeniusai.com/">AI & Big Data Expo events with upcoming shows in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam to learn more. Co-located with the IoT Tech Expo, , & .

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The keynote featured IBM’s SVP of Global Business Services, Mark Foster; the EU’s Digital Economy and Society Commissioner, Mariya Gabriel; and the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Angel Gurria.

Foster opened the session with a foreboding tone: “What we want to talk about is something very serious and I think critical to acceptance of all the great technology we’re looking at outside this building.”

A glance around the exhibition floors shows how AI and the IoT are maturing. In fact, this event is less about mobile technology than it’s ever been.

This year, MWC has employed an opt-in facial recognition system from Breez to enable attendees to access the venue. It was incredibly quick, but there’s a definite unease about how that data is being stored and used.

Building trust will be essential to ensure the full potential of such technologies can be unlocked. Another technology emerging, the blockchain, will help with the security aspects.

Foster notes how we’re at an inflexion point in technology with AI, the IoT, 5G, and blockchain converging to unlock an immeasurable number of possibilities.

“With the combination of AI, automation, blockchain, 5G… we’re at a time when there’s a convergence coming together at scale for one of those moments which changes how business gets done,” he says.

By mitigating the risks, these technologies can benefit mankind. A failure to do so, however, could be devastating and will damage trust.

“We’re seeing a fantastic capacity to take advantage of so many amazing new technologies,” he comments. “We’re also facing a time when people are more concerned than ever about the implications of abusing those technologies.”

Some of the considerations Foster highlights include data privacy, inclusiveness, and ensuring we do not expand the digital divide.

IBM recently conducted some research in which it talked with some 1,200 CEOs around the world and found data responsibility was the number one AI issue on their minds. Some 91 percent said they expected new demands from their customers about the ethical way they’re introducing AI. 92 percent said they expected more regulation.

Foster was followed by a couple of individuals representing two institutions exploring such regulations. The first was Mariya Gabriel who is the EU’s digital economy and society commissioner.

The EU is investing heavily in digital technologies. In fact, Gabriel claims the bloc’s €4 billion 5G investment represents the largest in the world. She points towards an ongoing 139 5G trials as world-leading, and that 10 cross-border 5G motorways are now open.

“IoT, AI, 5G, big data, are all part of what will be the future of our industries. All industries. This is a fact,” says Gabriel. “We need to reap its opportunities, mitigate its risks, and make sure it’s respectful of our values as much as driven by innovation.”

You won’t hear the EU speak much without talking about values. It’s often debated how much the EU practices what it preaches, but it’s making a clear effort with AI to develop some ground rules. What it won’t do is rush headfirst into deployments.

“When 5G becomes mission critical, it needs to be secure,” comments Gabriel. “Nobody is helped by premature decisions.”

The EU is enlisting 52 experts to develop guidelines on the ethical implementation of AI. An initial version was published last December and it was opened up for comments on 1st February 2019. Over 500 have been received so far.

Gabriel says the next step is a trial phase for the guidelines. The goal, she claims, is to make ‘ ’ AI a reality. She hails the digital single market as tearing down things like roaming charges, while GDPR is becoming a ‘world reference’ (her words, not mine.)

“Europe has to have a common approach or there’s a risk of fragmentation,” says Gabriel. “Diverging decisions taken by member states trying to protect themselves we know damages the digital single market.”

While the EU is concentrating on Europe, other institutions are looking to influence global policies in world-changing innovations such as AI.

Next on the agenda was a representative from one such institution. Angel Gurria is the Secretary-General of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

Gurria also notes how the ‘rapid digitalisation’ from the aforementioned technologies brings opportunities and challenges. He starts with the benefits of technologies such as AI for things like making better decisions.

“AI is not only dynamising economies and facilitating lives,” says Gurria. “It’s also helping people make better predictions and better decisions; whether it’s the shop floor manager or a doctor in the operating room.”

Gurria transitions into how machines work better with human control, a suggestion they should be designed to enhance productivity rather than replace people. “Less artificial, more intelligent,” he says.

AIs replacing jobs is one of the biggest societal fears. Low-skilled jobs are expected to be most at risk. Some research indicates they’ll create as many as they destroy, but many will find themselves without the skills necessary for these new roles.

Gurria highlights the OECD estimates 14 percent of jobs in the countries it operates are deemed at ‘high risk’ of being replaced by automation. A further 32 percent is considered at risk of ‘significant disruption’ over the next 10-20 years. Added together, close to half the workforce is at risk of being displaced or disrupted.

“Disruption is a good word when you come to these exhibitions,” jokes Gurria. “In the traditional sense, however, it means people are going to feel underqualified after the effects of the technology.”

Another concern raised by Gurria is that of ‘automatised discrimination’ that affects life-changing things for an individual like hiring processes, loan approvals, or even the criminal justice system.

Seeing Gurria follow Gabriel, I couldn’t help but think it seemed like both should be working together on this issue rather than various sets of AI guidelines. As if he could read my thoughts, Gurria says the institutions – including others, not just the EU – speak to each other and it does not mean work is being duplicated.

“I just met with the head of UNESCO, and she has an advisory group too,” explains Gurria. “Now we have three large institutions – one specialised in European issues, UNESCO which is worldwide, and the OECD which is about policies for better lives.”

The OECD is launching the results of its two-year ‘Going Digital’ project at a dedicated summit held between the 11-12th March 2019. At the summit, the project’s main findings and policy messages will be presented.

We’ll have coverage of the OECD’s summit next month, but until then this MWC session gave us all plenty to think about. Primarily, that AI needs to be developed with innovation, values, and trust.

deepgeniusai.com/">AI & Big Data Expo events with upcoming shows in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam to learn more. Co-located with the IoT Tech Expo, , & .

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