The Business Case for Ethics
Why Inaction is No Longer an Option
This post is a part of the EQUATION publication. Follow the link below to access the full issue.
Dear Reader,
There are a lot of lessons I’ve had to learn over the years as an AI Ethicist. Some have been hard, others quite unexpected, and a rare few could be classified as comical. However, one lesson in particular stood out. It was especially difficult to master, and came with a hard pill to swallow, but has since proven to be one of the most important lessons I've learned to date.
What I had to learn early on was that if AI Ethics doesn’t make sense in terms of business growth and development, nothing is ever going to change in the AI industry, no matter how well-intentioned or motivated the people behind the technology are.
This realization would have been a great time to give up and count AI Ethics as just another lost cause. But instead of wallowing in disillusionment and frustration, I decided to set out and prove my hunch that ethics not only makes sense in terms of business growth and development, but is ultimately a source of strategic innovation in AI.
Turns out, that hunch was spot on.
Over the years, thanks to thousands of brilliant researchers, leaders, and responsible tech workers, we have an abundance of proof that AI Ethics is one of the most strategically beneficial tools for long-term success in AI. It can no longer be ignored, ethics is simply good business.
So now I’d like to offer you a new lesson to learn: instead of asking whether or not ethics is a good business decision, ask yourself just how much good business you will create by making the decision to embed ethics?
Happy reading,
Olivia & The EI Team
