What basic principles define the future of our existence, the one integrated with AI? This is what Juliette Powell and Art Kleiner, authors of ‘The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology’ discuss with Dinis Guarda in his latest YouTube podcast, powered by openbusinesscouncil.org and citiesabc.com.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly emerged as one of the most transformative technologies of our time. With the power to automate tasks, make predictions, and even simulate human intelligence, AI is revolutionizing industries, from healthcare to finance. However, the rise of AI also presents a significant dilemma, one that involves striking a delicate balance between technological innovation and ethical responsibility.
The latest episode of the Dinis Guarda YouTube podcast highlights their recent book, ‘The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology’, where the authors Juliette Powell and Art Kleiner highlight the benefits and challenges that arise with the rapid integration of AI in our lives.
An author, a television creator with 9,000 live shows, a technologist, and sociologist, Juliette Powell, speaks about how digitalisation has empowered humanity:
“We are surrounded by real physical beings. We act as batteries to each other, and the digital realm just enables it. It is enabling me to meet other people that I haven’t met or worked with. So, there’s immense freedom in connecting through digital. I’m no longer bound due to boundaries or socio-economic barriers.”
Art Kleiner is a versatile writer, editor, and entrepreneur deeply engaged in contemporary business and tech challenges and has held multiple top level editorial positions at global corporations like PwC Global and Kleiner Powell International. He highlighted that we live in times when AI and other technological advancements are happening at lightning speed. He also emphasised that while AI brings immense potential with it to transform our lives, it brings with itself many challenges than we can ever imagine.
“AI freezes the best of us, amplifies it, and automates it. So, it becomes a forcing function for a self examination. We have to tap into our humanity now, if we don’t want technology to overpower us”, he says.
The AI Dilemma: The key Principles for responsible technology
Having been developed by humans and fed with data sets from human samples, AI algorithms can perpetuate existing biases in data, potentially leading to discriminatory outcomes in areas including hiring, medical treatments, educational opportunities, to name a few. Ensuring that AI benefits all of humanity requires rigorous efforts to identify and rectify these biases.
“Be intentional about the approach you take, thinking about the consequences, both intentional and unintentional, and making choices of how much of those consequences you can tolerate and how you will magnify the effects”, said Art.
Meanwhile, Juliette shared some privacy concerns that arise from AI’s ability to process extensive personal data, necessitating the establishment of robust data protection regulations and standards to safeguard individuals’ privacy rights.
“It’s really important to remember that the first way to stop the potential harm from happening is to start setting regulations now. How do we want our systems to behave – each one of us. If we get that piece figured out, it will go a long way to address the two sides of AI”, she said.
Adding to this, Art emphasised that determining accountability and liability in cases of AI errors or harm is a complex legal challenge that requires clear guidelines.
“We need to identify what mechanisms can we put in place so that when people misuse the technology, either deliberately or through carelessness, understand the implications and compensate with those affected by it”, he said.
The AI Dilemma: Addressing ‘creative friction’
With AI’s transformative power comes the need for creative friction: a delicate balance between control and frictionlessness.
“Just because we have AI doesn’t mean things are going to be frictionless now. That’s quite the opposite. Now, we are going to have to choose between 17 different organized lives that we live and decide which one really fits in the moment”, Juliette told Dinis.
Creative friction within the AI revolution embodies the tension between the desire for control over AI systems and the pursuit of frictionless, efficient operations. On one hand, organizations seek to harness AI’s potential by controlling its processes, ensuring compliance, and mitigating risks. On the other hand, they aim for seamless integration and effortless user experiences, minimizing disruptions.
“The idea that we are in control because we have our digital devices, products, and services, and that we can delegate a lot of decision making capabilities to these tools, also needs to be weighed against the cross-benefit analysis. This is necessary to truly be able to control something”,she added.
By embracing discussions, ethical considerations, and user-centric approaches, we can navigate the AI landscape while balancing control and frictionlessness. In doing so, we foster innovation, ensure responsible AI development, and create AI solutions that improve our lives while adhering to ethical and regulatory standards. In the age of AI, creative friction is not an obstacle but a catalyst for progress.
“At the end of the day, when you are a parent, you don’t regret because of what they (and you) have learnt along the way. With AI, it’s the same. We can have dialogues about the various issues as they come to light. We can’t just go and deal with the destruction part right away. We would need to take intermediary steps. Afterall, it is up to us to raise questions and make decisions.
That’s when I get the hold of humanity”, Art said, concluding the interview on a positive note.
Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.
