How can organisations make the future of tech responsible

Even before the recent resurgence of interest in artificial intelligence (AI), more specifically, generative AI (GenAI) a la ChatGPT and others, technology has been ubiquitous in our lives, jobs, and the world.

Technology is now not just driving recommendation engines for commerce. It is driving sentencing recommendations, medical diagnosis and treatment recommendations, financial decisions, and customer support, to name just a few.

Given the broad footprint of technology in today’s world, the scope for unintended consequences, both positive and negative, is large enough to require technologists and organisations to look at ways to mitigate those consequences. 

The contributors to these unintended consequences include bias in AI, data privacy violations, and a lack of consideration for the breadth of the possible user base. Many of these consequences result from focusing too much on the specific problem we are attempting to solve.

We often miss the surrounding context, whether it be categories of people we might serve if we change our approach or harm if we don’t change our approach or broader societal or environmental impacts. 

As these risks increase, consumers and regulators are taking note. Although their expectations are low, consumers want organisations they deal with to use AI responsibly.

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Consumer activism is becoming more common, requiring organisations to consider how their customers will react to particular decisions and situations. That said, the pressure doesn’t appear to be long-term, at least in recent cases. 

Regulations around data privacy and responsible AI are increasingly common, with the EU AI Act coming into force soon.

In a survey, executives cited regulation as particularly helpful in guiding their decision-making while dealing with these issues. Of course, the issue with a field evolving as rapidly as AI and technology more broadly, regulation could unlikely keep up. 

Given all this, what should technology organisations do to address these issues? This is where the notion of responsible technology comes in.

Responsible technology is grounded in the notion that we must consider all potential stakeholders as we make decisions about the technology we create and deploy. It’s a values-based process that looks to uncover the unintended consequences of our technology choices.

It takes into account issues like accessibility, security, sustainability, data privacy, bias and how people could misuse our products, to name just a few. Doing technology responsibly requires us to continually reevaluate our choices, as the technology landscape changes and environmental changes reveal new potential unintended consequences.

Achieving responsible technology is not just about having diverse teams, although that helps. We must see outside the blinders of our own experiences and perspectives to try and view our choices through the lens of other potential stakeholders.

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Additionally, organisations must decide for themselves, for example, how they will use and protect their users’ data. Developing a framework for decision-making is crucial here. Of course, the existing regulatory frameworks already constrain us in areas such as data privacy and accessibility.

While the focus here has been on potential negative consequences, broadening our perspective can result in positive outcomes as well by, for example, allowing us to see how minor tweaks to our approach can result in a broader target audience for our products and services.

Showing a commitment to responsible technology can also positively influence our employee value proposition, our customers' views on our organisation, and even our stock price. 

The reality is that, while we don’t necessarily ever set out to build irresponsible technologies, we often do so through inattention. Regulations only take us so far. The responsible technology techniques and frameworks force us to pay more attention to the issues of responsible technology. We can do better, and we must. 

Rebecca Parsons is the Chief Technology Officer — Emerita at Thoughtworks.