In the latest annual report from Alphabet, Google’s parent company, the “Risk Factors” section laid out reasons for potential ethical and even legal “challenges” involving artificial intelligence.
“New products and services, including those that incorporate or utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning, can raise new or exacerbate existing ethical, technological, legal, and other challenges, which may negatively affect our brands and demand for our products and services and adversely affect our revenues and operating results,” the report reads, according to Wired.
The tech magazine also pointed out that while Alphabet likes to position itself as a leader in AI research, it was six months behind Microsoft in warning investors about the technology’s ethical risks.
In Microsoft’s most recent report, the language it used when addressing AI concerns appeared to be more transparent.
“AI algorithms may be flawed,” Microsoft wrote this past August. “Datasets may be insufficient or contain biased information. Inappropriate or controversial data practices by Microsoft or others could impair the acceptance of AI solutions. These deficiencies could undermine the decisions, predictions, or analysis AI applications produce, subjecting us to competitive harm, legal liability, and brand or reputational harm.”
Microsoft also has been investing deeply in AI for many years, and in 2016 it introduced an internal AI ethics board that has blocked some contracts seen as risking inappropriate use of the technology.
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