The Real-World Dangers of AI in Businesses - Bionic
This Blog was Originally Published at: The Real-World Dangers of AI in Businesses — Bionic A very good friend of mine once recounted a story about a boardroom meeting where his CTO outlined grand plans for AI implementation. He sketched a picture of integrated operations, efficient data analysis, and exceptional growth. It sounded like the ultimate in convenience and the very epitome of what the new millennium would be like. Yet, as the details unfolded, a sense of skepticism began to rise, a feeling not easily dismissed. This was not the first time such a scenario had been observed. The buzz, the expectations, the appeal of a technological fix-it-all. I also know that AI doesn’t always work as perfectly as it was expected. Hence, there are potential dangers of AI that firms ought to be aware of. Fast forward half a year, and the company was in complete disarray. The implementation of the AI landed the company in legal trouble. Critical information was fabricated, harmful biases were perpetuated, and the company was caught amid controversy. The CTO had underestimated the complexities of responsible AI development and neglected to consider the potential for hallucinations and biases that could derail the project. In this blog post, let me unveil the dichotomy of the AI used in businesses. We will look at the business challenges that are out there, the dangers of AI, and why AI is bad if done incorrectly. “My worst fear is that we, the industry, cause significant harm to the world. I think, if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong and we want to be vocal about that and work with the government on that.” ~Sam Altman Dangers of AI Usage Artificial Intelligence promises a future of unparalleled innovation and efficiency. However, as with any transformative technology, it is essential to acknowledge and address the potential risks of artificial intelligence that lie within. Reliance on the Data Dilemma: Garbage In, Garbage Out One of the major dangers of AI lies in its reliance on data. AI’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness: its reliance on data. AI algorithms learn by analyzing massive datasets, but if the data is biased, incomplete, or irrelevant, the AI’s output will be flawed. Take the example of Amazon’s AI recruiting tool, which was designed to streamline the hiring process. The system was trained on resumes submitted to the company over 10 years, but because most of those resumes came from men, the AI learned to favor male candidates. (Know more) This is a prime example of why AI can be bad when underlying biases aren’t addressed. Amazon eventually scrapped the project due to concerns about bias, highlighting the AI threat to fair decision-making. Another common challenge is the sheer volume of data required to train AI models effectively. A study by OpenAI found that the amount of computing used in the largest AI training runs has been doubling every 3.4 months since 2012. (Know more) For many businesses, collecting, cleaning, and labeling such vast datasets is a daunting and expensive task, adding to the disadvantages of AI implementation.