We believe it is essential that humans guide the creation and evolution of AI.
As leaders in the field, we are iterating our approaches and methods to keep our ethics as cutting-edge as our tech. We develop our AI with the intent to do no harm – and are dedicated to monitoring our work, so it follows through on that goal.
Neither AI or humans are perfect. That starting premise is what keeps us on our toes. We can’t rest on the success of our tech – instead – we are constantly evaluating and iterating to make a better, more ethical product.
There is no one answer for what ethical AI is. There is not a single to-do list or a reigning authority that gives a concrete answer. To tackle this important issue, we have gone through some soul-searching as individuals, as a company, and as providers of AI algorithms across a range of industries to develop our ethical practices to guide our work.
How does unintentional bias affect Artificial Intelligence?
Bias is a problem in AI because it brings unexpected and unforeseen outcomes. Take Alexa’s “coin challenge” in 2021 as an example. When a 10-year-old girl asked Alexa “for a challenge to do,” Alexa promptly instructed her to “plug in a phone charger about halfway into a wall outlet, then touch a penny to the exposed prongs.”
We as humans understand that is a poor choice, but what went wrong with the AI? This wasn’t an intentional bias that caused the problem or a bad actor responsible – but the potential consequences are no less dangerous.
Alexa’s AI pulled this suggestion by searching “challenges” from the web – and found this problematic suggestion on TikTok. Amazon fixed the problem and redefined the boundaries of what is safe and acceptable to share from the huge volume of data on “online challenges”.
It was fixed – but the decision of what info should be included or excluded – how the AI places weight and meaning are all moments where bias can introduce itself again.
How are we at Bright Apps developing the most ethical technology possible?
The Bright Apps Way:
- At Bright Apps, ethics conversations (and training) are a company-wide business. It is not just the engineers that steer our AI ethics – but every member of the team has a voice. This allows for a diversity of race and gender. All perspectives are important in this conversation.
- An internal ethics committee spearheads our approach. This committee leads our internal conversations and holds us accountable to our plans and goals.
- Ethics reviews are quarterly and integrated into our planning processes so that bias review is timely and actionable.
- As a military contractor, we undergo extensive audits that look through our financial and ethical practices. We are dedicated to being the best we can be and cooperate fully with audits to be transparent and open to improvement.
- We are transparent as we help our clients through bias audits on the algorithms and the tech we create for them. We understand that the laws and policies surrounding AI are constantly changing – as a business, we are here to help our clients along this path. We stay abreast of the changing legal landscape, so our clients are prepared and ready for what’s next.
- We take pride in the security and privacy of our work, protecting our clients and the data we use daily.
- Nothing is perfect – and because of that – we are vigilant, thoughtful, and open to learning and improving.
We aren’t perfect – and because of that – we are vigilant, thoughtful, and open to learning and improving. This is the BrightApps way.
About Bright Apps LLC
Bright Apps specializes in developing custom, end-to-end software solutions focused on the creation, integration, and operationalization of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Quantum Technology, Blockchain, and Encryption.
Bright Apps’ technologies have successfully digitally transformed organizations of all sizes including the US Government, Fortune 500 companies as well as lesser-known startups and small companies.
With decades of experience creating innovative technologies with a group of highly skilled engineers, Bright Apps can work in any discipline as well as provide graphic, IT consulting, and business development services. Bright Apps can provide expertise in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, AI, Blockchain, and quantum entropy security solutions.For more information, visit Bright Apps LLC www.brightappsllc.com
