Could AI deepen inequalities in the world?

Doha, Qatar – At one of the world's largest technology conferences, whether it was on the main stage, its side panels, or at the dozens of glitzy, towering company booths, there was one term on everybody's lips: artificial intelligence (AI). At Web Summit – held for the first time in the Middle East in Doha – and which wrapped up on Thursday, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders from around the world were all talking about AI's capabilities. Yet alongside that excitement, there are also growing concerns among experts that these technologies could exacerbate inequities dividing the world. Technologies, including AI, run the risk of amplifying biases that already exist, according to Ayo Tometi, co-creator of the US-based antiracist movement Black Lives Matter. "We're seeing quite literally, that prejudice is being programmed into the technologies that are being deployed in our communities. And these biases must be addressed," Tometi said at the summit.