Daniel Shin is a venture capitalist and senior luxury fashion executive, overseeing corporate development at MCM, a German luxury brand.
Responsible AI: 2024 as a pivotal year for AI governance
Daniel Shin
We must recognize the importance of responsible AI. Policymakers must ensure that AI is ethically and transparently developed and used. AI must be deployed in the best interests of all by addressing concerns around privacy, fairness and equality. The government should introduce a standard for accountability by requiring institutions to assess the societal impacts AI can produce. It has to be aligned with values and respect for human rights to begin with. Other key ethical issues also include surveillance, discrimination, explainability, regulation and so forth.
AI governance is a critical undertaking sought by numerous nations. Nations should commit to a vision of common, comprehensive and cooperative AI governance by putting equal emphasis on development and security. For example, AI technology can be used to support the audit and compliance process. AI can automatically analyze risks and identify deviations from regulations and policies, thus reducing human error. However, it is crucial to steer the optimal point for development, deployment and use of trustworthy AI technologies before applying them to broader use.
AI governance is intended to promote the ethical application of the technology. Some expert groups claim that mitigating the dangers of AI to society needs to be a global priority on equal footing with pandemics and nuclear war. AI governance requires safe, fair, and effective implementation and usage of the technology. At the same time, the benefits of machine learning and other forms of AI must be available to everyone fairly and equitably.
Generative AI poses threats, such as its capability to produce content intended to influence the belief systems and actions of individuals. The real-time and individualized nature of human-computer interactions makes it difficult to hold the system engineer accountable for any misuse of AI algorithms. Technology can be used to overwhelm government offices with automated content that is indistinguishable from any human-generated content.
The long-term success of AI depends on gaining public trust. The public must be protected from unsafe and ineffective AI applications. AI systems must behave equitably to all as well. Data privacy must be built into AI. The public should be able to opt out of any automated systems if they so wish. AI could affect the safety and fundamental rights of humans when it is incorrectly used in education, employment, law enforcement, migration, etc. Transparency must be provided by allowing users to know if they are interacting with AI when they have to make fully informed decisions.
All technologies evolve, but AI is self-evolutionary. AI may become the first technology with ways to improve itself. It is almost impossible to perfectly anticipate the impact of new technologies. AI is neither good nor bad but AI is hardly neutral if its algorithms are twisted or data sets are totally wrong. Technology largely depends on the people who develop, design and implement it. Hence, AI governance is the key to enhancing our lives, communities and society.
Since 2023, lawmakers have been busy crafting regulatory frameworks to govern AI as the technology advances exponentially year by year. World leaders have prioritized the need for AI governance. However, agreeing on the specific details of AI regulation is a far different story. AI’s rate of improvement has surpassed what humans could already do and the nature of AI suggests different incentives.
The imperative to develop, deploy, and utilize advanced AI systems must not come at the expense of effective governance. The risks of AI are real, but they are manageable if we start now. We need a strong commitment to proactively respect human rights in the design, development and use of AI. As policymakers have adapted and evolved their approach to privacy over the years in alignment with the changing technology landscape, we will need to do the same for AI.
As 2024 emerges as a pivotal year for AI, the world is witnessing unprecedented progress in AI. Hence, AI governance shall help protect user data and ensure responsible AI. Responsible AI must ensure the application of appropriate data sets, implement privacy measures, and address and self-correct potential biases or errors in AI algorithms. We must not forget that rapid technological advancement is what has created this urgent need for international rules and norms for AI governance, yet broad global discussions remain absent. Securing true global consensus for international AI governance is vital to managing risk and harnessing opportunities in AI for all.
Daniel Shin is a venture capitalist and senior luxury fashion executive, overseeing corporate development at MCM, a German luxury brand. He also teaches at Korea University.