The 3 Principals of Building Anti-Bias AI

In April of 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission -- in its "Aiming for truth, fairness, and equity in your company's use of AI" report -- issued a clear warning to tech industry players employing artificial intelligence: "Hold yourself accountable, or be ready for the FTC to do it for you." Likewise, the European Commission has proposed new AI rules to protect citizens from AI-based discrimination. These warnings, and impending regulations, are warranted. Machine learning (ML), a common type of AI, mimics patterns, attitudes and behaviors that exist in our imperfect world, and as a result, it often codifies inherent biases and systemic racism. Unconscious biases are particularly difficult to overcome, because they, by definition, exist without human awareness.