IBM explores AI tools to spot, cut bias in online ad targeting

IBM Corp is developing tools that would ensure online advertising algorithms do not unfairly show ads to only specific groups such as mostly men or wealthy people, aiming to address discrimination concerns that have drawn industrywide scrutiny. The company told Reuters on Thursday that a team of 14 will research "fairness" in ads over the next six months, exploring ways to spot and mitigate unintended bias, including in audiences and the messages themselves. Academic researchers and civil rights groups have found for a decade that some audiences including Black people and women can be excluded from seeing job, housing and other ads because of potentially unlawful choices made by advertisers or automated systems they use. Following complaints by U.S. anti-discrimination regulators and activists, Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google, which are the world's biggest digital ads sellers, enacted some changes. Also Read Google's adtech business set to face formal EU probe by year-end But problems remain, while greater concern about data privacy has already begun reshaping internet marketing.