INTHEBLACK February 2022 - Magazine - Page 32
F E AT U R E
// E T H I C S A N D 4 I R
OPEN VIDEO IN A NEW WINDOW
AN ETHICAL MINEFIELD
4IR technologies pose ethical challenges because
their advancements are moving faster than
standards of governance and regulation. However,
Kuperholz also notes a disparity between the
aspirations of some organisations that use the
tools and the wider goals of the society in which
they operate.
Consider the example of an AI-led company,
such as YouTube. In broad terms, its business
model is based on a user’s time on site, which
determines the number of ads they see to maximise
advertising revenue. YouTube has huge amounts
of data at its disposal – it knows who its users are,
which videos they watch and, because it is linked
to Google, their search history, too.
“Social media platforms can train an AI
algorithm to search for the best videos to put in
front of me to maximise my time on site,” says
Kuperholz. “These algorithms were put in place
to maximise profits for shareholders, but did it
accomplish the right thing by serving me the
most interesting, educational content that’s going
to serve my purpose as a human? The answer is
probably ‘No’.
“The same applies to the algorithms that serve up
content to my daughter in continuous feeds,” adds
32 ITB February 2022
“THE CHALLENGE...
IS THAT SO MANY OF
OUR INSTITUTIONS,
OUR GOVERNANCE
SYSTEMS AND OUR
REGULATORY
FRAMEWORKS
HAVEN’T KEPT UP
WITH THE PACE OF
TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENTS.
MANY OF THE
INSTITUTIONS ARE
LAGGING BEHIND.”
PROFESSOR MAHENDHIRAN
SANGGARAN NAIR FCPA, SUNWAY
UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
Kuperholz. “How biased are they? Why is she
not seeing people with a disability in these feeds?
Why is she not seeing people with ‘imperfect’
body types in these feeds? Why is she seeing
fewer dark-skinned people, given that she’s a
light-skinned girl?
“The algorithms are aiming to maximise her
time on site, while compromising a fair and
unbiased representation of what the world
actually looks like.”
It is not just tech companies that face ethical
questions in their use of 4IR technologies.
Research from PwC shows that, of businesses
currently using or trialling AI solutions, 25 per cent
have not considered AI as part of their corporate
strategy, while just 38 per cent believe it is aligned
with their organisational values. Only a quarter
make ethical implications a top consideration for
AI solutions before investing in them. However,
84 per cent of CEOs agree that AI-based decisions
need to be explainable in order to be trusted.
LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
Professor Mahendhiran Sanggaran Nair FCPA,
pro-vice chancellor research engagement and
impact with SUNWAY University Malaysia,
fellow of Academy Sciences Malaysia and member