As a member of the SAS Data Ethics Practice, I was excited to collaborate with teams at the SAS Hackathon to learn more about their ideas for trustworthy AI. Artificial Intelligence has the potential to make a difference in the real world, and partnering with the hackathon teams was a
AI – just like humans – can carry biases. Unchecked bias can perpetuate power imbalances and marginalize vulnerable communities. Recognizing the potential for bias is one of the first steps toward responsible innovation. Doing so allows users to include diverse needs and perspectives in building inclusive and robust products. Through
As organizations embrace AI, they often handle large volumes of data that power AI systems. Handling data appropriately includes implementing adequate privacy policies and security measures to protect it. Doing so prevents accidental exposure and ensures ethical data use. AI technology often uses sensitive data for creating, training and utilizing models.
As AI rapidly advances over the next several years, I’ve been fortunate to have an active role in helping to guide a responsible path forward when it comes to technology’s impact on our daily lives. Currently, this role includes serving as Vice President for the SAS Data Ethics Practice, as an
The term "partner" is often overused in the technology industry. We partner with cloud providers, we partner with systems integrators, we partner with our customers – and so much more. But when a genuine partnership comes together to build something complex and successful, you can't deny the importance of that
Who is responsible for ensuring that new AI technologies are fair and ethical? Does that responsibility land on AI developers? On innovators? On CEOs? Or is the responsibility more widespread? At SAS, we believe that it is everyone’s duty to innovate responsibly with AI. We believe that adhering to trustworthy
I see the term resilience in a lot of business literature these days. Intuitively, it makes sense. After a pandemic, global supply chain disruptions and resulting economic fragility, executives understandably consider adaptability, durability and how best to operate with a strength of character – all attributes that define resilience. Many
If you’ve ever contemplated AI's messy reality and political nature, the interplay of technology with society and the impact of AI on democracy, we have a conversation for you. As AI rapidly expands, it has sparked numerous discussions and debates. One theory is that AI is inherently political. This viewpoint
In today's world, data-driven systems make significant decisions across industries. While these systems can bring many benefits, they can also foster distrust by obscuring how decisions are made. Therefore, transparency within data driven systems is critical to responsible innovation. Transparency requires clear, explainable communication. Since transparency helps people understand how
Generative AI (GenAI) is a category of AI that can create new content, including video, audio, images and text. GenAI has the potential to change the way we approach content creation. It’s gotten much attention lately. Take ChatGPT for example. The AI chatbot has captivated the public’s imagination with clever
In this post, Ajay Agrawal, professor at Toronto's Rotman School of Management, discusses the challenges of unlocking the full potential of AI and ML for businesses and banks. Agrawal explains how the taxi industry in London, UK provides a cautionary tale of the potential impediments to driving value from AI,
Responsible innovation is critical because technology does not exist in a vacuum. It affects us all in unexpected ways. We know analytics has an undeniable impact on society. For example, analytics can help hospitals manage their inventories for essential items like wheelchairs and bladder scanners, help sports teams curate a
One of the reasons I got involved with the trustworthy AI movement is because automated systems enabled by our past will hurt people – at scale – if we aren’t careful. Worse yet, and from a personal perspective, it concerned me that if such systems were deployed in justice and
The word innovation often draws to mind images of self-driving cars, new phones, and shiny tech. Yet, innovation often happens behind the scenes, especially in advanced analytics. Around the world, industries like healthcare, government, banking, manufacturing, and more rely on the latest advancements in analytics. At SAS Explore, an event for
I’ve spent months traveling and speaking to business leaders worldwide about trustworthy AI and responsible innovation. On the nights I laid awake in unfamiliar hotel rooms, wishing my body clock would adjust faster than it was, I found joy in watching local television in local languages. While I don’t understand
As head of the SAS Data Ethics Practice, I spend a lot of time contemplating the social implications of AI. Considering its benefits like augmenting medical decisions and pitfalls, making decisions based on biased data results in dire consequences for patients. Such implications have the potential to impact society in a variety
We hear a lot about responsible AI or AI ethics in the marketplace today. At SAS, we believe there should be a larger conversation about responsible innovation. In reality, the decisions made by AI are the outcome of algorithms, data and business processes. This means ethical considerations must be applied
We as a society should actively involve a divers, non-tech-audience into the discussion in the proper usage of AI – it can not be tech experts only discuss what our everyday life is impacting so much already.
In my previous article, “The Vital Ingredients of Responsible AI,” I described the principles that underpin the need to develop AI systems that factor in the human factor, not only contribute to business outcomes but also protect individuals, society and the environment. While it’s difficult to argue with those principles,
In my previous article, “The Business Imperative for Responsible AI," I covered the main business drivers for responsible AI. Beyond the greater good and social responsibility, responsible AI is emerging as a key factor for successful AI adoption. In this article, I will describe the main ingredients of responsible AI:
"Now what? Responsible artificial intelligence (AI)? You're probably going to tell me that this is going to interfere with how I go about AI." Yes, I am. There's a whole list of nations coming up with strategies on AI. Check out this world map where each colored country is having a
Early in the pandemic, we used this blog to offer resources for responding to COVID-19, recovering from the economic losses, and reimagining life after the pandemic. By now, everyone has read about testing, contact tracing, social distancing, treatment protocols and vaccines. Whether or not you have had COVID yourself, all
Since 2015, the number of Americans who to listen to at least one podcast per month has increased by approximately 40 million people. The number of podcast listeners has also ballooned globally in tandem with a rise in smart speaker adoption. People are consuming them at home, on the go
“Bias is not inhuman. To have bias is absolutely human,” says Banu Raghuraman. If data enthusiasts are going to break the cycle of bias, however, “we have to be more aware of where the data is coming from, what it’s trying to tell us and how we can break the
A recent report suggests that the current state of climate change is alarming. Climate change puts billions of people at risk of events like extreme hurricane seasons and rising sea levels. However, data and analytics play a critical role in informing us about the situation, planning ahead, and raising awareness
In this Q&A with MIT/SMR Connections, Iain Brown, SAS’s head of data science for the United Kingdom and Ireland, discusses technical readiness for AI, customer adoption trends, IT’s changing role, and mission-critical considerations for technology and talent. Q: What does it mean, from both a technology and a cultural standpoint,
As organizations increasingly use artificial intelligence to collect and analyze data and identify individuals, the topic of ethical AI often rears its head. Last year, Michigan's Integrated Data Automated System flagged more than 540,000 unemployment claims as possibly fraudulent. Thousands of state residents’ accounts were inaccurately flagged, making it almost
Reasoning frameworks of artificial intelligence used in criminal justice and health care systems move us to rethink how AI can be constructed to help foster an equitable society. We interact daily with algorithms that over time predict and inform our actions. Spam filters in e-mail and real-time mapping technologies on
Having the ability to know what the best decision is in any given scenario sounds like a superpower. What may surprise you is that this “superpower” already exists. SAS calls it intelligent decisioning. Decisioning is a powerful tool in the business world. It is useful to both the company and
Artificial intelligence undoubtedly remains a key trend when it comes to picking the technologies that will change how we live, work and play in the near future. As always, with great power comes great responsibility. There are many benefits that AI solutions bring to the world. But poor design or
