Can robots and AI be racist?

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Artificial intelligence is barely in its infancy in terms of being able to mimic the intricacies of human intelligence, but technology is making huge strides, fueling everything from factory automation to bank loan approvals. Experts agree that now is the time for companies to develop AI with deliberate care or risk further cementing biases in our economies.

In its third season, the #ChamberBreakers podcast series unboxes capitalism to see what needs to be fixed and what we can do as businesses to build a fairer future for all.

In this episode, Lianna Brinded, director at Yahoo and Xavier White, CSR and innovation marketing manager for Verizon Business, chat with acclaimed roboticist Ayanna Howard, dean of the Ohio State University College of Engineering and founder of Zyrobotics, an organization nonprofit therapeutic and educational products for children with special needs.

Howard, who explored biases in AI in her book “Sex, Race, and Robots: How to Be Human in the Age of AI, says she started worrying a few years ago, when companies were starting to adopt AI without addressing issues like prejudice and overconfidence.

Read more: #ChamberBreakers: sexism issue in healthcare

If developed and implemented conscientiously, AI can be a tool to level the playing field for all within the capitalist system, for example by lowering the barriers to entry or promotion faced by some. groups.

One of the positive aspects of AI is that it allows us to embed our values. However, because AI is programmed by humans, we also imbue it with our biases, if the bias is already present in the data used to teach AI.

Howard cites studies that found black women were not offered follow-up health services, based on historical data that informed AI. Likewise, there have been instances where algorithms take gender into account in loan applications and loan rates.

On the positive side, she believes AI could act as an anti-bias trainer, detecting nuances in sexist, racist or homophobic language or practices that may not be explicit enough to allow precise coding.

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I think AI can do it, but it has to be adaptive, she says. Imagine typing something up and knowing your identity, and saying, that word, shows that you’re a little biased against this certain group.

There are a number of ways that companies can take action to eliminate AI bias in data or implement AI best practices, and one is to offer bias bonuses.

Read more: #ChamberBreakers: How the gender economy is failing women

In the same way that companies give bonuses to people who can find security bugs in their systems, Howard says they really need to start committing to what I would call third-party auditors when it comes to bias. .

If your business isn’t like the world, how can you expect to have a competitive edge if you create products for people you don’t understand? Howard said.

Companies should also take into account the diversity of experiences, i.e. involve people such as ethicists and social scientists.

For Howard, today’s debate on AI mirrors past conversations about technology creating a digital divide. It didn’t happen, but people were intentional, there was a lot of effort and a lot of understanding, she says. Today that connectivity … has really enabled the world to expand.

The six-part video series is also a podcast and releases every Monday. Next week’s episode stars David Kenny, CEO of Nielsen.

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