Responsible AI: The need of the hour

Sujoy Roy
4 min readMar 25, 2024

--

Who is ready to be the AI watchdog?

Image: Created by DALL.E-3 via text prompt

AI has become like a superhero in today’s world. But just like Spiderman’s uncle Ben said, “with great power comes great responsibility”! Turns out, AI can sometimes mess up and make some pretty wonky decisions. Imagine a robot trying to cook dinner — it might end up serving spaghetti with toothpaste sauce!

So, to keep AI in check, lots of big corporates and also nations have started talking about ‘Responsible AI.’ It’s like a rulebook for making sure AI behaves itself and doesn’t cause chaos. Think of it as AI’s code of conduct to be a good robot citizen.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the world’s most discussed technology trends and is forecast to increase global GDP by $15.7 trillion by 2030. The growing popularity of AI has prompted national, and regional organizations to craft strategies around AI governance.

Every day, people are getting more worried about AI going haywire. It’s like everyone’s waiting for the next big oopsie moment! The AI drama doesn’t stop there! That’s why nations from all over are teaming up to figure out how to keep AI in line. It’s like a big superhero team-up movie, but instead of battling bad guys, they’re fighting against AI mishaps.

Lately governments are getting in on the action too! They’re putting their heads together to come up with rules and principles for AI. It’s like they are trying to make sure AI doesn’t turn into a big mess that nobody can clean up. The world of AI governance is heating up faster than a microwave oven.

Reliable and dependable AI can speed up progress.

Let us picture this, when everyone including employees, customers, investors, even the neighbour’s cat feels good about how AI is being used, we’re all happier campers. It’s like having a big thumbs-up party for AI and who doesn’t love a good old trust-fest, right? The more we trust AI to play nice and do its job without causing chaos, the more we’re cool with letting it into our lives.

Now, to make sure AI stays on its best behaviour, we need some good old-fashioned leadership and a pinch of transparency. It’s like being the captain of the AI ship and making sure it doesn’t hit any icebergs along the way. Let’s not forget about good governance, that’s just a fancy way of saying we need some rules and responsibilities in place to keep AI in check. Because let’s face it, even robots need a babysitter sometimes!

Currently, levels of trust in AI are generally low but gaining more attention, most customers are not too sure about letting AI call the shots. Imagine, if you had to pick between a human and a robot to decide who gets a bank loan. Well, it turns out that most people would trust a human with that decision. In one survey it was found that less than 10 percent felt comfortable letting businesses use AI to talk to them.

As per IBMs global study: not many consumers trust companies to be all responsible and ethical with their fancy new technologies. Even though more executives are saying AI ethics are important, not many are actually walking the talk. It’s like saying you’ll eat your veggies but never actually touching them on your plate! So, while it’s cool that more folks are waking up to the importance of AI ethics, it’s still a bit of a bumpy ride.

In order to keep this in check, it can all start with some basic rules to follow, like a superhero code of conduct, a set of principles that becomes a standard globally irrespective of geographies boundaries. Also, just having these rules isn’t enough. We have to actually stick to them and show we are serious about it. Think of it like promising to eat your veggies but sneaking them to the dog when no one’s looking, not cool! If we don’t follow through and tell people how we’re doing, those fancy rules won’t mean anything. In fact, they might even make things worse by giving folks false hope. So, let’s make sure we walk the talk and keep everyone in the loop. After all, trust isn’t built on empty promises!

One of the first step in this approach could be of AI auditing. It’s like giving AI a report card to see how well it’s behaving. We’re talking about making sure AI follows the rules, doesn’t play favourites, and can explain itself when needed. It’s like putting AI under a microscope and making sure it’s not up to any funny business.

When we make sure AI plays by the rules and doesn’t go off the rails, it’s like giving it a turbo boost. People feel more comfortable using AI when they know it’s got their backs and won’t pull any funny business. It’s like having a super reliable sidekick that helps you zip through tasks faster than a speeding bullet!

When AI earns our trust, it’s like opening the floodgates to all sorts of cool stuff! We can speed up processes, find solutions to tricky problems, and even make the world a better place. So, next time you are hanging out with AI, remember being responsible and trustworthy isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the key to unlocking a world of possibilities!

Final Thoughts

Reliable and trustworthy AI has the power to accelerate progress and make our lives easier. When everyone feels good about how AI is used, it’s like having a big thumbs-up party. But to keep AI in check, we need leadership, transparency, and good governance. Right now, trust in AI is shaky, but by sticking to rules and being transparent, we can build trust and unlock AI’s full potential.

So, who is up for being the AI watchdog? I hear it comes with a shiny whistle!

--

--

Sujoy Roy

A technology enthusiast, #Engineer, likes to speak on #artificial intelligence #tech #digital transformation #Cloud Computing #Fintech. Follow me @sujoyshub