Trust and ethics in AI systems - possible?

Last week I asked the question whether we should fear the accelerating AI systems. My answer was: yes, we should be scared.

I stated that security principles must be incorporated into AI systems to ensure their safety and transparency, limit the impact of algorithmic discrimination, and give users control over their data.

I finalized by column by asking whether AI systems will understand integrity and ethics. Today, let me discuss the needed dimension of trust in AI systems:

Artificial intelligence (AI) as a technology is maturing. Far from the stuff of science fiction, AI has moved from the exclusive regimes of theoretical mathematics and advanced hardware to an everyday aspect of life.

Over the last few years of exponentially accelerating development and proliferation, our needs and requirements for mature AI systems have begun to crystallize. Trust is not an internal quality of an AI system like accuracy, or even fairness. Instead, it’s a characteristic of the human-machine relationship formed with an AI system.

No AI system can come off the shelf with trust baked in. Instead, trust needs to be established between an AI user and the system. The highest bar for AI trust can be summed up in the following question: What would it take for you to trust an AI system with your life?

Fostering trust in AI systems is the great obstacle to bringing into reality transformative AI technologies like autonomous vehicles or the large-scale integration of machine intelligence into medicine.

AI is far from the first technology required to meet such a high bar. The path to the responsible use of AI has been paved by industries as diverse as aviation, nuclear power, and biomedicine. What we’ve learned from their approaches to accountability, risk, and benefit forms the foundation of a framework for trusted AI.

The challenge now is to translate those guiding principles and aspirations into implementation, and make it accessible, reproducible, and achievable for all who engage with the design and use of AI systems. This is a tall order but far from an insurmountable obstacle.

The trust signals available from an AI system are not eye contact or a diploma on the wall, but they serve the same need. Particular metrics, visualizations, certifications, and tools can enable you to evaluate your system and prove to yourself that it is trustworthy.

Let me go from Trustworthiness to Ethics:

Ethics relates to the question, “How well does the model align with my values? What is the real impact of my model on the world?” In the context of AI, Ethics benefits from a concrete, systematic approach despite its inherent complexity and subjectivity.

Ethics also covers:

Privacy — Individual privacy is a fundamental right, but it is also complicated by the use and exchange of data. What role does AI play in the management of sensitive data?

Bias and Fairness — How can AI systems be used to promote fairness and equity in our decision-making? What tools can be used to help define what values you want reflected in your AI system?

Explainability and Transparency — How can these two linked properties facilitate the creation of a shared understanding between machine and human decision-makers?

With an AI system, ethics relate to hard quantities you can measure, and behaviors and practices you can control or override. With forethought, you can have even more stringent requirements than you would of any employee across the dimensions of trust outlined above. The challenge is to think ahead, and systematically identify what is the desired behavior of the system that would reflect your values across all dimensions and then plan proactive steps to guarantee it.

I have tried to answer the question at the top: Can we build Trust and Ethics in AI Systems?

Can we? Your views would help us to address the behavior of the advanced AI Systems and protect us.

Let me finish on the lighter side: AI is writing school papers now.

College students are sharing (anonymously) that they’ve started using AI tools to generate essays that can bypass anti-plagiarism software and score an A. The widespread use of the tools could reshape education and force schools to figure out new writing prompts or entirely fresh ways of assessing student performance to avoid being duped by the technology.

I would appreciate your feedback to the issues I have raised; please contact me at [email protected]