AI Transparency: Let's Talk About AI Accountability

In recent years, academicians and corporate professionals have requested greater transparency in the inner workings of artificial intelligence (AI) models, and for many good reasons. In a Harvard Business Review post, Andrew Burt, Immuta's chief legal officer, points out that transparency can help mitigate certain problems, such as fairness, discrimination and trust, in a scenario in which, for example, the new Apple's credit card has been accused of sexist loan models, while Amazon scrapped an AI tool to hire after discovering it discriminated against women. At the same time, it is becoming clear that the disclosure of AI information poses its own risks: greater disclosure of information can make AI more vulnerable to attack, while the more information is reported, the more companies can be susceptible to lawsuits or regulatory actions. "Let's call it the AI transparency paradox: while generating more information about AI could bring real benefits, it could also create new risks. To navigate this paradox, organizations will need to think carefully about how they handle AI risks, the information they generate about these risks, and how that information is shared and protected, "says Burt.