Universities Are Making Ethics a Key Focus of Artificial Intelligence Research

These concerns have spread throughout the AI field, leading even large corporations such as Microsoft to develop internal guidelines for using this technology. In June, the company publicly shared its new "Responsible AI Standard" framework that is aimed at "keeping people and their goals at the center of system design decisions and respecting enduring values like fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability," according to a Microsoft blog post. As a result of these standards, the company phased out an emotion recognition tool from its AI facial analysis services following criticism that such software was discriminatory against marginalized groups and not proven to be scientifically accurate. Businesses are not the only organizations looking to solve ethical questions about AI. Multiple colleges and universities are also creating research centers, educational programming, and other efforts that will help develop a new generation of scientists and engineers who are dedicated to using this form of technology to better society.