Companies could be fined if they fail to explain decisions made by AI

Businesses and organisations could face multimillion-pound fines if they are unable to explain decisions made by artificial intelligence, under plans put forward by the UK's data watchdog today. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said its new guidance was vital because the UK is at a tipping point where many firms are using AI to inform decisions for the first time, such as human resources departments using machine learning to short-list job applicants based on analysis of their CVs. The regulator says it is the first in the world to put forward rules on explaining choices taken by AI. Around two thirds of UK financial service companies are using AI to make decisions, including insurance firms to manage claims, and half of the public are concerned about algorithms making decisions humans would usually explain. AI researchers are already being called on to do more to unpack the "black box" nature of how machine learning arrives at results.