Why AI ethics is like DEI and sustainability - or, how to encourage more business people to do the right thing, even if it's not for what we may think are the 'right' reasons
Thank you for sharing this, Karen! I think companies can only put ethics first if it makes business sense, simply because if it doesn't, they will not survive as companies. I do believe that companies trying to do the right thing, being transparent, and using AI to empower people (your employees, your customers, your users...) have a competitive advantage in a world in which users and potential employees are more and more aware of AI's trade-offs.
That is why creating more stories of companies that become financially successful by being intentionally human-centric with their use of AI is my purpose at nodeom.com.
Now, for a company to be successful, it needs demand and it needs to attract talent... So, let's vote with our money, as you say, and with the companies we choose to work for or with.
Agreed, Noelia - and one of the key aspects of the business case is the workforce impact. There’s already data showing that talented people are considering corporate ethics, including around AI, when choosing where they want to work.
Can definitely see a lot of business cases for AI ethics:
1. Hallucinations = worse performance, lawsuits, need for insurance
2. Copyright issues = lawsuits
3. Efficiency - Ironically alternatives/ethical AI companies may be cheaper? Or bespoke solutions that are focused on the actual needs of the company may be better than an LLM trained to do a bunch of random things on data that may be irrelevant and confuse the output?
Particularly love the focus on making ethical AI tools practical and accessible.
But I do think that this problem is a much more emotional one than we realize. We can appeal to reason all day long, but the other side's emotional tug is stronger - "use these dubious tools or be left behind", "immigrants are going to replace you".
I don't think they're rooted in reason, but lizard brain emotions. It becomes really hard to "business case" your way out of it.
My shiny new (and really, really early) hypothesis is that the antidote is to expose people to ethical practices as a default - bring them into truly inclusive spaces and help reduce anxiety around AI. People can only really be reasonable when they're calm.
@Christine Miao, thank you for your thoughtful comment! I agree that the fear factor around AI and being left behind needs to be addressed too, especially for individuals, and that even solid business case numbers won't sink in otherwise. Love your hypothesis on a possible antidote!
Thank you for sharing this, Karen! I think companies can only put ethics first if it makes business sense, simply because if it doesn't, they will not survive as companies. I do believe that companies trying to do the right thing, being transparent, and using AI to empower people (your employees, your customers, your users...) have a competitive advantage in a world in which users and potential employees are more and more aware of AI's trade-offs.
That is why creating more stories of companies that become financially successful by being intentionally human-centric with their use of AI is my purpose at nodeom.com.
Now, for a company to be successful, it needs demand and it needs to attract talent... So, let's vote with our money, as you say, and with the companies we choose to work for or with.
Agreed, Noelia - and one of the key aspects of the business case is the workforce impact. There’s already data showing that talented people are considering corporate ethics, including around AI, when choosing where they want to work.
Can definitely see a lot of business cases for AI ethics:
1. Hallucinations = worse performance, lawsuits, need for insurance
2. Copyright issues = lawsuits
3. Efficiency - Ironically alternatives/ethical AI companies may be cheaper? Or bespoke solutions that are focused on the actual needs of the company may be better than an LLM trained to do a bunch of random things on data that may be irrelevant and confuse the output?
All good considerations to include when calculating the financial impact of an AI tool - thanks, Natalia!
I love this and have SO many thoughts.
Particularly love the focus on making ethical AI tools practical and accessible.
But I do think that this problem is a much more emotional one than we realize. We can appeal to reason all day long, but the other side's emotional tug is stronger - "use these dubious tools or be left behind", "immigrants are going to replace you".
I don't think they're rooted in reason, but lizard brain emotions. It becomes really hard to "business case" your way out of it.
My shiny new (and really, really early) hypothesis is that the antidote is to expose people to ethical practices as a default - bring them into truly inclusive spaces and help reduce anxiety around AI. People can only really be reasonable when they're calm.
Thanks for this kick-ass piece.
@Christine Miao, thank you for your thoughtful comment! I agree that the fear factor around AI and being left behind needs to be addressed too, especially for individuals, and that even solid business case numbers won't sink in otherwise. Love your hypothesis on a possible antidote!