Why Data & AI Ethics Matters

Because people matter

And right now, many people feel invisible - that they’re just a data point, a number in a spreadsheet. And as we rely more and more on data, AI and algorithms to make our decisions, the more disconnected with people we become. And sadly, the more disconnected with people we are, the greater the chance we can cause some real harm.

A real-life example

Take for example, the Australian Centrelink welfare overpayments scandal. They created an algorithm [and I use that term loosely] where thousands of people were wrongly told they had to pay back their welfare payments. In some case this was thousands of dollars, in others tens of thousands.

The human cost

People did whatever they could to pay it back - they used up their savings, sold their cars or took out loans. Many felt ashamed and embarrassed about owing the money and their financial and mental health suffered. Tragically at least three people took their own lives (yep, you read that right!).

All because of a poorly designed algorithm where the designers forgot about the people behind the data.

How ethics helps

While most of us don’t set out to destroy peoples lives, we can easily get caught up in the busyness of everything - trying to get the code to work, trying to solve the problem in front of us, trying to do something useful. Data ethics helps us to build habits so that we’re continually seeing the people, not just the numbers. It encourages us to pause, and to think about how our choices might shape people’s lives.

Ethics also pushes us to look for alternatives that still meet our goals. Centrelink could have sought fortnightly data from the tax office, or if that wasn’t viable, they could have gotten beneficiaries to upload their payslips as they got them. Nothing earth shattering, or at odds with their objective, just a bit of thought.

It’s good for business

Treating people as people, and not just a number in a database, is good for business [shocking I know😊]. Customers will feel valued, giving you their trust and loyalty.  Organisations that gain customers' trust will thrive. And you will feel good about what you do and who you do it for.

So, here’s the challenge

Starting now, let's build in some regular time - once a day, once a week, to step back and see the people in your data.