TechIE Talks AI and Ethics
The panel discussion included alumni experts.
IE University’s TechIE Club hosted a panel discussion Managing AI Ethics with alumni experts, marking the club’s first event for the Responsible Tech Salon – a series of IE alumni conversations addressing ethical challenges in emerging technologies.
The panel, moderated by Assistant Philosophy Professor Ted Lechterman featured insights from Joaquina Salado, Head of AI Ethics at Telefonica, Illiana Grosse-Buening, Founder of Quiet Social Club, along with Shelly Lugassy, Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon Web Services.
Lugassy, alumna of the Master in Business Analytics and Big Data emphasized the importance of regulating AI, especially for cloud providers.
“When we think of regulating AI, and specifically for cloud companies, there is a really high importance in setting some rules of the game because eventually, those decisions will impact so many consumers,” Lugassy explained. “Every cloud provider serves thousands of businesses, and those thousands of businesses are serving millions or billions of customers.”
Lugassy brought up the challenges related to data as a resource and fuel to artificial intelligence.
“For at least a few years now, some people are saying that the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data. We are still facing a lot of challenges related to some aspects such as how clean the data is and how to actually collect it, process it, and manage it,” she said.
Salado, also an alumna from the Master in Business Analytics and Big Data talked about the inequalities which AI can close between first and third world countries if the latter’s voices are heard when regulating technologies.
“AI really contributes to a reduced inequality, and not the opposite. I think it’s very important that the voices of these less-developed countries are heard in the AI conversation,” Salado said. “We need to hear their voices because perhaps there are some aspects that need to be tailored to these specific regions.
Salado explained how Telefonica creates an organizational culture of responsibility and ethics, sharing it with external and international organizations such as UNESCO.
Grosse-Buening, 2015 graduate from the Master in Management focused on the impact of AI on mental health and wellbeing.
“AI and technology are affecting our wellbeing, and I think we all want to make sure that we not just make sure that it doesn’t take away from wellbeing, but perhaps promote it. I think it’s a nice thing to bring wellbeing into the conversation,” she said.
When Lechtarman posed the question of whether companies should take immediate steps to have responsible and ethical AI strategies or wait for the regulation, all three panelists agreed with the former.
Lugassy made a point about the increasing number of private companies that are building responsible AI frameworks and products to help other organizations, without regulatory interventions.
“There is an increasing number of private companies that are building products to help other companies apply frameworks that are related to responsible AI or responsible AI management,” she pointed out. “Having said all of that, the regulator has been more reactive than proactive so far. And tech companies are leading the way in how responsible they are.”
The three alumni ended the discussion and talked about their learning experiences at IE University which helped them navigate AI ethics challenges.
“To stay curious, to stay open-minded, to you know, see challenges as an opportunity for growth. Usually there’s a solution, and to get excited to find those solutions also,” Grosse-Buening said.