How AI Can Accelerate Racial, Religious and Cultural Bias

This blog is part of a Channel Futures DE&I partnership with Xposure Culture & Belonging Council.

Today, AI is a multibillion-dollar industry, touching just about every application we use in our daily lives. AI powers our search engines, our social media platforms, the systems we use to apply for jobs, and the entertainment we consume. While there is a ton of excitement around the rise of AI, there are also plenty of individuals and groups calling for caution and studying the potential threats the technology presents. So, what are the risks exactly?

The environmental impact of AI is one of the biggest talking points among concerned watchdogs. AI technology consumes an incredible amount of power, requiring the construction of countless new data centers, and all of the carbon, noise and heat emissions that come with them. Emissions related to the development and operation of AI applications, however, aren’t the only concern. Another threat AI making systems that contribute to climate change even more powerful. One example of this is ExxonMobile’s partnership with Microsoft, announced in 2019, which used Azure’s AI-powered technology to increase production by the equivalent of more than 50,000 oil barrels per day. Another example is highly targeted AI advertising platforms increasing the demand for fast fashion, an industry that is notorious for its harmful impact on the environment. 

Related:Pronouns Matter: Building an Inclusive and Thriving Work Environment

Yet another concern many have around AI is its potential for bias when dealing with humans, especially along sensitive lines such as race, religion, cultural background, and more. The Federal Trade Commission's Office of Technology compiled a list of major concerns that consumers have around the rise of AI in everyday life. One is the potential for bias based on how AI models are trained. One example: inaccuracies in facial recognition software due to a lack of representation of certain racial demographics in the content used to train the model. This bias can lead to a wide variety of real-world consequences for individuals, such as vulnerability to scams, discrimination and more. 

Despite these concerns and threats, we all know AI isn’t going anywhere. And the news is not all bad — there's just as much potential for AI to help solve the world’s problems as there is for it to make them worse. For example, researchers have developed AI-powered models to help monitor and curb emissions and reverse the effects of climate change. Just like in the science fiction works of the last century, AI has almost unlimited potential to either help or harm humanity, depending on how we, its developers, guide it. As an industry and a society, we are faced with the ultimate opportunity to responsibly usher in a new era of technological development, as long as we proceed with care.

Related:Use Varied Hiring in Sales Talent to Increase Revenue