5 simple rules to make AI a force for good

Consumers and activists are rebelling against Silicon Valley titans, and all levels of government are probing how they operate. Much of the concern is over vast quantities of data that tech companies gather--with and without our consent--to fuel artificial intelligence models that increasingly shape what we see and influence how we act. If "data is the new oil," as boosters of the AI industry like to say, then scandal-challenged data companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Google may face the same mistrust as oil companies like BP and Chevron. Vast computing facilities refine crude data into valuable distillates like targeted advertising and product recommendations. But burning data pollutes as well, with faulty algorithms that make judgments on who can get a loan, who gets hired and fired, even who goes to jail.