annual review indst 2024 public - Flipbook - Side 25
Annual Review 2024
Q&A: Digital Rights & AI
Ross Teverson
Theme co-lead:
Human and Labour Rights
Navishka Pandit
Theme:
Human and Labour Rights
The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT3 in November 2022
and the subsequent arrival on the market of other
large language models (LLMs) raised awareness of the
transformative impacts that AI may have on business
and society. We have seen a proliferation of use cases
for AI, which extend beyond early adopting industries,
such as technology and finance, into all sectors.
A recent study by the International Data Corporation
suggests that worldwide spending on AI-enabled
applications, infrastructure, and related services will
more than double by 2028 to US$632bn.1
While digital technologies, particularly AI, have the
potential to drive a fourth industrial revolution and
are creating unprecedented new opportunities for
businesses, their deployment also introduces ethical
dilemmas, as well as reputational and legal risks.
These include potential breaches of privacy rights,
cybersecurity threats, and unintended bias or a lack
of transparency or explainability in AI models.
Other issues include misinformation, a potentially
unsustainable rise in data centre energy demand,
and disruption to the workforce.
potential for unintended personal and societal harms,
and this creates opportunities for companies to derive
long-term value from establishing themselves as trusted
digital and AI brands. Research conducted by the
consultancy Bain & Co found that companies with a
comprehensive, responsible approach to AI earned twice
the level of return on their investment in AI.3
Users of digital services and AI are
understandably concerned about the
potential for unintended personal
and societal harms.
Q. How would you summarise EOS’s approach
to engaging on these topics?
A. We have been engaging on digital rights since 2012,
and the business and wider societal impacts of AI since
2018. In 2019, we published our Investor Expectations on
Responsible AI and Data Governance4 paper and a
collaborative paper on AI Applications in Financial
Services.5 Later, in 2022, EOS’s Digital Rights Principles6
set out our core expectations of companies regarding
privacy rights, freedom of expression, mitigation of
negative societal impacts (including the need to prioritise
children) and the implementation of robust AI
governance structures and policies.
Developing and agreeing on ethical AI and data
governance principles is important to a company’s
own internal understanding of how best to manage
the associated risks, such as algorithmic bias. These
principles should explain the structures for digital rights
and AI governance, the ethical use principles to which
a company adheres, examples of use cases, and
explanations of how risks, including algorithmic bias,
are identified and mitigated.
Q. Why should a responsible approach to digital
rights and AI be a priority for businesses?
A. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
came into effect in 2018. By 2023, we were seeing record
fines issued by the EU for the mishandling of personal
data.2 This illustrates the need for companies to
rigorously manage the risks associated with digital rights
and AI, especially given that an urgency to address some
of the concerns relating to AI has led to a global, yet
fragmented drive to introduce new regulations.
The business case for a responsible approach to digital
rights and AI hinges not only on the mitigation of
downside risks, but also the opportunity to enhance a
company’s returns and reputation. Users of digital
services and AI are understandably concerned about the
1
Worldwide Spending on Artificial Intelligence Forecast to Reach $632 Billion in 2028, According to a New IDC Spending Guide
Chart: EU Data Protection Fines Hit Record High in 2023 | Statista
3
Adapting Your Organization for Responsible AI | Bain & Company
4
https://www.hermes-investment.com/uploads/2021/10/4f7c68d220b2d3e1b1c89fa0be3d9906/investors-expectations-on-responsible-artificial-intelligence-anddata-governance.pdf
5
https://www.marsh.com/en-gb/industries/financial-institutions/insights/artificial-intelligence-applications-financial-services.html
6
https://www.hermes-investment.com/uploads/2022/04/5a8aadeb037fb131b1889c3f6b1a85aa/eos-corporate-digital-rights-principles-04-2022.pdf
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