INTHEBLACK February 2022 - Magazine - Page 31
STORY SUSAN MULDOWNEY
A
lgorithms, such as those that determine credit
decisions, are often described as “black boxes”
because of the mystery surrounding what really
goes on inside them.
Even the most ethics-focused and tech-driven
organisations face something of a minefield when
navigating the growing power and influence of Fourth
Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies as they continue
to evolve and make further inroads into the mainstream.
The World Economic Forum describes 4IR as “a new
chapter in human development, enabled by extraordinary
technology advances”. It encompasses artificial
intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT),
genetic engineering and quantum computing, and blends
the physical, digital and biological worlds to help us do
things that were previously impossible – or that took
much more time, effort and resources.
Law enforcers are using 4IR technology to help combat
crime. Scientists have mined it to map the human
genome. When managed well, the technology can unlock
new sources of economic value by verifying assumptions,
predicting customer needs and spotting business trends.
“The value that AI can bring to real-world problems is
huge,” says Professor Matt Kuperholz, chief data scientist
and partner at PwC. “The fact that it’s not simply AI,
but a whole bunch of exponential technologies that are
reinforcing each other, is an even more important concept
to grasp.
“Part of the solution for monitoring the performance
of AI is explainability and transparency, then robustness
and security, in the same way you’d address cybersecurity,”
adds Kuperholz. “But there’s a lot of catching up to do.”
intheblack.com February 2022 31