Lawmakers want UK to set example on transparency in AI decision making

British lawmakers want more transparency and less bias in decision-making -- not their own, of course, but in decisions made by AI systems. As more and more software systems and connected devices employ artificial intelligence technologies to make decisions for their owners, the lawmakers want to know what's behind their thinking. The U.K. Parliament's Science and Technology Committee has been studying the need for more regulation in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. Recent advances in AI technology raise a host of social, ethical and legal questions, the committee's members said in a report published Wednesday. We need, they said, to think about whether transparency in decisions made by AI systems is important; whether it's possible to minimise bias being accidentally built into them; and how we might verify that such technology is operating as intended and will not lead to unwanted or unpredictable behaviors.