ICO published guidance on AI and data protection - Verdict

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published guidance on how to ensure data protection compliance when deploying artificial intelligence (AI). The ICO opened consultation on its first draft of the AI guidance in December last year, and released the final version today, the culmination of two years of research and part of the ICO's commitment to enable good data protection practice in AI. The guidance is intended to "mitigate the risks specifically arising from a data protection perspective, explaining how data protection principles apply to AI projects without losing sight of the benefits such projects can deliver". It includes both recommendations on best practice and practical guidelines on deploying the technology while avoiding the security risks potential for discrimination and bias that it can bring. The guidance is designed to help organisations "assess the risks to rights and freedoms that AI can pose from a data protection perspective" and how to implement measures to mitigate risks, but is not intended as a guide to the ethical or design principles of the use of AI.