White Paper: 10 Principles for Responsible AI

Please click on link below to read the full report.

WLiAI Report 2019: 10 Principles of Responsible AI

Executive Summary:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way we live and work – and it is mostly for the good.

Algorithms are at the heart of AI and are very useful tools to automate decisions and free up humans to do work needing our creativity and discretion. But we are still seeing many algorithms that discriminate against women and ethnic minorities. Meanwhile, subservient female virtual assistants are the default interface for consumers’ interactions with machines.

How did we get to this backwards future? And how do we alter our course so that AI helps us build a better society?

In this report, we set out 10 recommendations for government to regulate Artificial Intelligence and drive its development.

They have been developed by the Women Leading in AI Network, whose members are women from all walks of life, including leading AI scientists, algorithm coders, privacy experts, politicians, charity sector leaders and academics. The aim of the Network is to mobilise politics, so we can build an AI that supports our human goals and is constrained by our human values.

Our ten recommendations are:

  1. Introduce a regulatory approach governing the deployment of AI which mirrors that used for the pharmaceutical sector.
  2. Establish an AI regulatory function working alongside the Information Commissioner’s Office and Centre for Data Ethics – to audit algorithms, investigate complaints by individuals, issue notices and fines for breaches of GDPR and equality and human rights law, give wider guidance, spread best practice and ensure algorithms must be fully explained to users and open to public scrutiny.
  3. Introduce a new ‘Certificate of Fairness for AI systems’ alongside a ‘kite mark’ type scheme to display it. Criteria to be defined at industry level, similarly to food labelling regulations.
  4. Introduce mandatory AIAs (Algorithm Impact Assessments) for organisations employing AI systems that have a significant effect on individuals.
  5. Introduce a mandatory requirement for public sector organisations using AI for particular purposes to inform citizens that decisions are made by machines, explain how the decision is reached and what would need to change for individuals to get a different outcome.
  6. Introduce a reduced liability’ incentive for companies that have obtained a Certificate of Fairness to foster innovation and competitiveness.
  7. To compel companies and other organisations to bring their workforce with them – by publishing the impact of AI on their workforce and offering retraining programmes for employees whose jobs are being automated.
  8. Where no redeployment is possible, to compel companies to make a contribution towards a digital skills fund for those employees.
  9. To carry out a skills audit to identify the wide range of skills required to embrace the AI revolution.
  10. To establish an education and training programme to meet the needs identified by the skills audit, including content on data ethics and social responsibility. As part of that, we recommend the set up of a solid, courageous and rigorous programme to encourage young women and other underrepresented groups into technology.

Read our full report here: WLiAI Report 2019: 10 Principles of Responsible AI