4 Ways AI Education and Ethics Will Disrupt Society in 2019

By Tara Chklovski     Jan 28, 2019

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-28-4-ways-ai-education-and-ethics-will-disrupt-society-in-2019

In 2018 we witnessed a clash of titans as government and tech companies collided on privacy issues around collecting, culling and using personal data. From GDPR to Facebook scandals, many tech CEOs were defending big data, its use, and how they’re safeguarding the public.

Meanwhile, the public was amazed at technological advances like Boston Dynamic’s Atlas robot doing parkour, while simultaneously being outraged at the thought of our data no longer being ours and Alexa listening in on all our conversations.

1. Companies will face increased pressure about the data AI-embedded services use.

2. Public concern will lead to AI regulations. But we must understand this tech too.

In 2018, the National Science Foundation invested $100 million in AI research, with special support in 2019 for developing principles for safe, robust and trustworthy AI; addressing issues of bias, fairness and transparency of algorithmic intelligence; developing deeper understanding of human-AI interaction and user education; and developing insights about the influences of AI on people and society.

This investment was dwarfed by DARPA—an agency of the Department of Defence—and its multi-year investment of more than $2 billion in new and existing programs under the “AI Next” campaign. A key area of the campaign includes pioneering the next generation of AI algorithms and applications, such as “explainability” and common sense reasoning.

Federally funded initiatives, as well as corporate efforts (such as Google’s “What If” tool) will lead to the rise of explainable AI and interpretable AI, whereby the AI actually explains the logic behind its decision making to humans. But the next step from there would be for the AI regulators and policymakers themselves to learn about how these technologies actually work. This is an overlooked step right now that Richard Danzig, former Secretary of the U.S. Navy advises us to consider, as we create “humans-in-the-loop” systems, which require people to sign off on important AI decisions.

3. More companies will make AI a strategic initiative in corporate social responsibility.

Google invested $25 million in AI for Good and Microsoft added an AI for Humanitarian Action to its prior commitment. While these are positive steps, the tech industry continues to have a diversity problem

4. Funding for AI literacy and public education will skyrocket.

Ryan Calo from the University of Washington explains that it matters how we talk about technologies that we don’t fully understand.