Experts have expressed concern about the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence; the gender biases already present in our society may end up being encoded into the algorithms, leaving women and kids most vulnerable unless proper government regulations are established.
Generative artificial intelligence, like ChatGPT, can create text, images, and other media types when prompted. It is an innovative form of system that is capable of responding to commands or queries.
At the Forbes Women in Business Summit, Dr. Catriona Wallace, a specialist in Artificial Intelligence and Metaverse, voiced her top worry – lack of responsibility on the part of tech giants – as generative AI grows more prominent.
Dr. Catriona Wallace says:
“The world changed for us in November last year when generative AI was launched and now we see more and more organisations using this extraordinary technology,”
“The challenge is still in the AI sector 9 in 10 jobs are held by men and 1 in 10 are held by women.”
Wallace is worried that in digital worlds, gender, race, and sex imbalances will persist in the physical world. As the disparities in male and female usage of gaming platforms demonstrate, this could mean an unequal distribution of power and opportunity.
Dr. Catriona Wallace went on to say:
“There is still absolutely the most likely chance we will be hardcoding society’s existing biases towards women and minorities into the machines that are running our world,” she said.
“There is little if no regulation to do with AI because the tech is so far ahead of the government and policymakers,”
Wallace underlined governmental intervention’s importance in inhibiting such deterioration in virtual reality.
Dr. Catriona Wallace adds:
“Women, children and minorities are still at significant risk from AI,”
As technology companies neglect the ethical implications of artificial reality, more and more programs, such as ChatGPT and the soon-to-be-released Apple augmented reality platform, are emerging. Wallace highlighted this lack of consideration when warning about these advancements.
Dr. Catriona Wallace continues to say:
“Tech giants are running the show and the world,”
“None of the tech giants, in my opinion, are demonstrating that they have ethics and responsibility in mind because it is countered to their business model of profit.”
Toby Walsh, an expert in artificial intelligence and the author of Machines Behaving Badly, believes that embedding societal biases into technology is a major issue at its core.
Toby Walsh says:
“Much of artificial intelligence is based on machine learning and is based on data,”
“Data is historical, it reflects the past and the society it captured and there are lots of biases in that data.”
Cautioning, Walsh stated that if tech companies don’t heed, the pre-existing gender and disability disparities will be encoded into automated systems. He iterated the importance of taking necessary steps to ensure equal access for people with disabilities.
Toby Walsh continues to say:
“Unless you put time and effort and money, these tools won’t be accessible to that part of the population,”
Not only is government regulation, which already has some restrictions on gender discrimination, important, but tech companies must also have a diverse team of employees creating their programs for Walsh to see real progress.
Dr. Jodi Dean believes it is necessary to actively work against bias in tech by having teams to oversee potential biases and for programmers to become aware of their own. He states that this is a crucial part of creating ethical technology with no undesired prejudices or assumptions ingrained within it.
Toby Walsh went on to say:
“The problem is systems can continue the biases that are present among humans,”
Tech companies should invest their time and resources into creating systems that all minority groups in the long-term can access for their financial benefit. This is especially important since popular Aussie jobs have shifted over the past 25 years.
Toby Walsh continues to say:
“In the long term, you can see companies that roll out artificial intelligence in a responsible way then consumers will see it as a competitive advantage,”
Sandy Walsh of the CDT said that tech companies should also be explicit about AI developments, given there is not much “open air” for blocking corporate biases within the technologies. She highlighted that it’s essential to have transparency to prevent coding pitfalls.
The goal should be to ensure that AI systems are developed and used in a fair, equitable, and respectful way for all individuals, regardless of gender or any other personal characteristics. By addressing these biases and creating more inclusive and equitable AI systems, we can help to ensure a more just and equitable future for all.
Source: @9News
