Tech firms failing to 'walk the walk' on ethical AI, report says

Tech companies that have promised to support the ethical development of artificial intelligence (AI) are failing to live up to their pledges as safety takes a back seat to performance metrics and product launches, according to a new report by Stanford University researchers. Despite publishing AI principles and employing social scientists and engineers to conduct research and develop technical solutions related to AI ethics, many private companies have yet to prioritise the adoption of ethical safeguards, Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence said in the report released on Thursday. "Companies often'talk the talk' of AI ethics but rarely'walk the walk' by adequately resourcing and empowering teams that work on responsible AI," researchers Sanna J Ali, Angele Christin, Andrew Smart and Riitta Katila said in the report titled Walking the Walk of AI Ethics in Technology Companies. Drawing on the experiences of 25 "AI ethics practitioners", the report said workers involved in promoting AI ethics complained of lacking institutional support and being siloed off from other teams within large organisations despite promises to the contrary. Employees reported a culture of indifference or hostility due to product managers who see their work as damaging to a company's productivity, revenue or product launch timeline, the report said.