Enterprises Don't Know What to Buy for Responsible AI

The potential for artificial intelligence (AI) is growing, but technology that relies on real-live personal data requires responsible use of that technology, says the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

"It is clear frameworks enabling consistency, standardization, and responsible use are key elements to AI's success," the IAPP wrote in its recent "Privacy and AI Governance Report."

The use of AI is predicted to grow by more than 25% each year for the next five years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Responsible AI is a technological practice centered around privacy, human oversight, robustness, accountability, security, explainability, and fairness. However, according to the IAPP report, 80% of surveyed organizations have yet to formalize the choice of tools to assess the responsible use of AI. Organizations find it difficult to procure appropriate technical tools to address privacy and ethical risks stemming from AI, the IAPP states.

While organizations have good intentions, they do not have a clear picture of what technologies will get them to responsible AI. In 80% of surveyed organizations, guidelines for ethical AI are almost always limited to high-level policy declarations and strategic objectives, IAPP says.

"Without a clear understanding of the available categories of tools needed to operationalize responsible AI, individual decision makers following legal requirements or undertaking specific measures to avoid bias or a black box cannot, and do not, base their decisions on the same premises," the report states.

When asked to specify "tools for privacy and responsible AI," 34% of respondents mentioned responsible AI tools, 29% mentioned processes, 24% listed policies, and 13% cited skills.

While organizations are aware of new technologies, such as privacy enhancing technologies (PETs), they have likely not yet deployed them, according to the IAPP. PETs offer new opportunities for privacy-preserving collaborative data analytics and privacy by design. However, 80% of organizations say they do not deploy PETs in their organizations over concerns over implementation risks.