IEEE calls for standards to combat climate change and protect kids in the age of AI
The IEEE Standards Association has released a report calling for engineers to consider the impact their work will have on climate change, children, and society. It’s a push toward “utilizing emerging technologies in a way that prioritizes people and planet over power and profits.”
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is one of the largest organizations for computer scientists in the world. With hundreds of thousands of members, the group undertakes initiatives to create common standards and often consults organizations like the European Commission and OECD on matters of ethics and design principles.
The whitepaper encapsulates change already underway at the IEEE that’s in line with AI ethics principles released in spring 2019 after years of work, according to John Havens, director of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous & Intelligent Systems.
The report offers three recommendations:
- Shift toward a “new climate economy” and identify “Earth-friendly AI”
- Protect children’s future, data, and lives
- Seek new success metrics that take societal well-being into account
The paper itself does not constitute an IEEE standard, but it points to a number of standards that may need to change to reflect the recommendations.
Children, data privacy, and big tech
The whitepaper also argues that the internet fails to account for underage users. It asserts that the internet is designed to treat every user as an adult, ignoring the need to protect children from data collection by tech giants.
It also points to advances in the field of probabilistic computing that can support the creation of well-being metrics and highlights recent work by the government in New Zealand, where lawmakers are using metrics associated with people and the environment to influence policy and the economy.
Other metrics that measure human benefit and well-being include the OECD’s Better Life Index and the Genuine Progress Index, which lawmakers in places like Maryland use when drafting legislation.
See the full story here: https://venturebeat.com/2020/02/06/ieee-calls-for-standards-to-combat-climate-change-and-protect-kids-in-the-age-of-ai/