AI bias: How tech determines if you land job, get a loan or end up in jail

One Georgia school district plans to spend $16.5 million to install artificial intelligence-powered surveillance cameras in its roughly 100 buildings in coming years. Businesses across almost every industry deploy artificial intelligence to make jobs simpler for staff and tasks easier for consumers. Computer software teaches customer service agents how to be more compassionate, schools use machine learning to scan for weapons and mass shooters on campus, and doctors use AI to map the root cause of diseases. Sectors such as cybersecurity, online entertainment and retail use the tech in combination with wide swaths of customer data in revolutionary ways to streamline services. Though these applications may seem harmless, perhaps even helpful, the AI is only as good as the information fed into it, which can have serious implications.