There is one topic that has dominated conversations for the past two years – how can the organisation fully realise the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). The technology moved rapidly into mainstream in 2023 and remains one of the most pivotal investments an organisation can make. According to a Forbes Advisor survey, companies are leaning on AI to improve operations, processes and productivity alongside bolstering their security and alleviating the admin burden.
The survey found, for example, that 56% are using it for business operations, 51% for cybersecurity and fraud, and 47% for digital personal assistants. It’s ubiquity and accessibility make AI the fastest and most efficient route to improving business processes and systems. Companies also said they expected it to have a positive effect on customer engagement, sales and costs.
However, there are concerns. The CompTIA Industry Outlook 2024 report found that while 22% of companies are prioritising AI across the business and 33% are currently exploring their AI implementations, the majority (45%) are still assessing their AI investment. Many have concerns around the costs and challenges of implementing AI. The Forbes Advisor survey highlighted another concern – misinformation. Alongside the technology dependence (43%), privacy (31%), misinformation (30%) and bias errors (28%) were flagged by companies as concerns they have around the use of AI.
The ethics of AI: building a trusted ecosystem
AI comes with risks. These risks are more nuanced and perhaps complex than other business technologies as AI can skew results, introduce bias and affect the business and the individual in a number of ways. Understanding the ethics of AI ensures the business approaches its use of the technology carefully, keeping its reputation intact and protecting its people. Ethical AI delivers better insights, performance and value – it also ensures your business remains in line with good governance and regulatory requirements.
While the conversation around ethical AI is longer than one article, some of the key considerations should be:
- Privacy – Ensure your AI models are trained using data that has a transparent history. Models require vast quantities of data, and you want visibility into how the data was collected, stored and cleaned. When you know where your data came from, you are also one step ahead of the second ethical challenge.
- Bias – Choosing the right data is essential, so is ensuring you are using learning models and processing designed to catch and weed out bias. As IBM points out, the people creating the AI aren’t aware they are introducing bias, which makes mitigating it a challenge.
- Accountability – Where does AI begin and end within the business? What data was used to inform certain decisions? Was the information used by your AI tools correct? These are important considerations when it comes to implementing and using AI within the business.
It can seem daunting. How can your business navigate an AI investment without falling into any one of these pitfalls? The answer lies in the use of trusted ecosystems built on foundations that have already prioritised ethics and transparency. Microsoft’s AI tools have been built on responsible AI practices and principles, prioritising fairness, privacy, security and transparency (among other key metrics) to ensure trust.
Mint, with our visionAI tools and our commitment to building trusted AI ecosystems, can also help you benefit from the potential of AI within your business without compromising on quality and reliability. Mint’s deep understanding of AI and how to maximise its capabilities to suit unique business needs ensures your AI delivers on performance and trust.
