How to Use AI for an Ethical and Sustainable Future

The potential of AI is exciting, with many organizations rushing to embrace this next-generation technology, which can and should be used to generate value for all society. AI can provide equitable outcomes for all, helping to build a fully inclusive society. A clear example of this is how AI can support those who have accessibility requirements.  There are, however, downsides for people and the planet which are often overlooked.

To bring true value to society and the environment, it is important to look at the overall impact of AI. We should aim to maximize AI’s positive effects while minimizing any negative impact. This means making AI ethical and sustainable, reducing its harmful impacts and enhancing its benefits.

Scrutiny of AI

In most cases, AI is not created to reinforce harmful biases or harm the environment, but it does have the potential to do both. For example, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a civil rights organization in the United States, has called on lawmakers to evaluate and regulate the use of predictive policing and AI within law enforcement. While these tools aim to help law enforcement, there is mounting evidence they can increase racial biases as a result of the black-box problem – where it’s impossible to understand the conclusions or predictions made by AI. For this reason, some instances of predictive policing have been banned in the EU’s AI Act and it looks likely the new Labour government will bring in similar laws and regulations on the use of AI within the UK justice system.

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AI can also have a detrimental impact on the environment. Digital technology has a huge environmental impact and contributes between 3-4% of greenhouse gas emissions – more than aviation. AI also uses four times as much energy as standard cloud applications, which, if not sourced sustainably, will worsen the climate crisis. Looking to the future as well, data centers are behind much of today’s AI technology and are expected to double their energy consumption in the next two years. Therefore, action must be taken now to minimize the impact of AI on the planet.

Best Practice for Ethical and Sustainable AI

So, what does best practice look like? Ethically, it means responding to the black-box problem, boosting the use of explainable AI in which the consequences are foreseen before being released to the public and the use of data reflects the principles of trust and transparency. This type of explainable AI is being used in certain areas of healthcare.

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From a sustainability perspective, certain practices should become embedded, such as prioritizing renewable energy for data centers or using less data and therefore less energy, in the creation of AI. This approach to AI should be clear and present from design to deployment, reducing AI’s negative impact on the planet.

To truly benefit society, AI shouldn’t just focus on driving financial value. It should support and achieve equity for all. AI tools like ChatGPT can boost efficiencies and cut costs, but they can also have a broader positive impact. For instance, the AI assistant ‘signbot’ developed by Sopra Steria, IBM and IVèS, is a conversational assistant in sign language for the deaf community.

Being Better by Design

AI needs to be ethical and sustainable by design. But what does this mean in practice?

How to Get the Most out of AI

To truly get the most out of AI, we need to boost its positive effects and minimize the negatives. The larger the gap between these two, the more value we can achieve and the more we ensure an ethical and sustainable future. It’s important to remember that sometimes the harm and negatives from AI are so severe and unacceptable, they will stop its development and use. We must take steps now, while the technology is still in its infancy, to design responsibly.

Organizations need to be aware of this when making decisions on AI and act accordingly. They should always comply with the law and strive to be as ethical and sustainable as possible. To achieve this, the wider societal and environmental impact should be a critical part of their overall AI strategy. Only by discussing the ethical and sustainable risks, alongside the value generated by AI, are we likely to see a successful future for the technology.