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Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful technology that is poised to revolutionize the world. Companies that fully leverage AI can completely transform their businesses, reaping the advantages of improved performance, lower costs, and increased innovation. This is very true for entrepreneurs and small business owners, as they’ll leverage AI to operate at a level that was once only possible for large corporations.
While artificial intelligence has the potential to bring enormous positive change, many people fear that using the technology unethically could do more harm than good. As entrepreneurs and small business owners, we wish to do what’s right for our customers and employees. Fortunately, there are steps entrepreneurs can take to ensure the proper use of AI in their businesses. By understanding the ethical landscape and taking proactive steps, entrepreneurs can responsibly leverage the power of AI.
1. Data privacy and security
Artificial intelligence requires large amounts of knowledge to perform tasks in order to provide detailed responses to user actions. Often, this data comprises personal or sensitive data. Data breaches may result in unauthorized access or misuse of this information, which might lead to serious consequences for the company – including lack of consumer trust, financial losses and even legal consequences.
The easiest type of defense is to use AI security measures. Most AI platforms come with security measures akin to encryption, firewalls, and data anonymization. While these tools are great, it is important to keep in mind that the overwhelming majority (almost 90%) of all data breaches are the results of human error. Investing in data security training for your team can mitigate most data privacy and security risks.
Additionally, it is important to stay awake to date on any data protection laws and regulations that apply to your business, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
2. Job transfer
Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, providing almost half of all jobs in the private sector. One of the biggest concerns is that artificial intelligence will replace large numbers of human jobs. While this raises real fear among staff, especially those that perform routine and repetitive tasks akin to data entry, the economy still needs consumers to stay healthy. With this in mind, small businesses can lead efforts to support the ethical and responsible implementation of AI technologies by adopting a human-centric approach.
Instead of pondering of AI as a substitute for human staff, think of AI as a tool that augments the efforts of team members to allow them to focus on other high-value activities. Where artificial intelligence can completely replace human tasks, corporations have an ethical obligation to focus their efforts on reskilling or upskilling team members to move into unaffected roles or take on recent responsibilities.
3. Disinformation, information bias and discrimination
While AI has many effective applications, it could even be used to generate misleading or harmful content, even unintentionally. Human language, culture and social behavior may be quite complex, so AI may not capture nuances that may significantly change the meaning of words and phrases in specific contexts.
AI also can by accident make recommendations based on errors in the training dataset. For example, you need to use AI to sift through a list of job applicants and narrow it down to a short list of high-quality candidates. This can save the entrepreneur a lot of time in the recruitment process. However, AI could prioritize recommending a candidate of a specific gender simply due to historical biases in the data.
It is critical for entrepreneurs to have processes and guidelines in place to review, fact-check and confirm the accuracy of data generated using AI. Ultimately, artificial intelligence is only pretty much as good as the data it is trained on. You also can reduce risk with your customers by providing transparency around AI-generated content through disclaimers.
4. Impact on the environment
Artificial intelligence requires huge amounts of energy to process data. One of the leading AI models, ChatGPT, used approx 1,300 megawatt hours of electricity just to train the third generation of the model. That’s the equivalent of the electricity needed to power 130 U.S. homes for an entire yr. As AI becomes more mature, the amount of energy needed to power AI and the data centers that support it is expected to increase significantly.
Small businesses can support a sustainable AI future by taking actions akin to selecting AI technology designed for energy efficiency and using data centers powered by renewable energy. The development of artificial intelligence is also expected to increase e-waste, so implementing an e-waste policy or recycling program could also be helpful.
As artificial intelligence becomes a ubiquitous a part of the business world, entrepreneurs and business owners have a responsibility to strike a balance between the practicality and ethical use of this technology. It is highly likely that governments and other regulatory agencies will proceed to implement more stringent guidelines to protect consumers. By keeping ethics in mind when implementing AI, business owners can reduce the risk of potential business disruptions or major changes to operating procedures.