Today, AI is the star of the hour and yet the spotlight on its ethical concerns has never shone brighter. A diverse spectrum of individuals, ranging from corporate leaders and frontline workers, to government officials are embracing AI and trying to figure out the best ways to ensure that AI does not cause any unintended harm.

While AI models today are revolutionary, they continue to grapple with ethical concerns like the lack of inclusivity, opaqueness and their nature of making up information. White papers and reports play a critical role in creating a fairer, more robust and transparent AI system. Here are six white papers that can assist everyone from the Big Techs to researchers in developing AI ethically.

 A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation

The UK government is aiming for a balanced approach to AI regulation and innovation through the ‘light touch’ framework proposed in the latest white paper. Their goal is to create a flexible set of rules based on principles, making the UK a global AI hub. The authorities plan to adapt existing laws and regulations to keep up with AI developments.

The recent consultation on this framework ended in June 2023, and we can expect a detailed government response and potential guidance on how to put these principles into action by December. 

State of AI Ethics Report 2022

The 6th volume of the Montreal AI Ethics Institute’s report has a Spanish text contribution in the report to produce multilingual content for the community. The team also added a new chapter on Trends that highlights subtle and not-so-subtle changes taking place in the AI ethics landscape. The 2022 version must be read to bring AI ethics meaningfully into organisations, or personal research.

The team also covered AI regulations that are in development around the world, including EU, US, NATO, UK, and UNESCO.

Advancing racial literacy in tech report 

In a paper authored by Data & Society Fellows Jessie Daniels, Mutale Nkonde, and Darakhshan Mir, a call is made to technology companies to practice racial literacy. This call to action underscores the need to break away from existing paradigms.

The report highlights a fundamental truth: tech products emerging from Silicon Valley and reaching global audiences are not racially neutral. Instead, they carry with them the assumptions and values of the dominant culture. This exportation of cultural ideals highlights the importance of adopting racial literacy as a foundational element within strategies, rather than treating it as a mere reactive customer service approach.

Advancing AI ethics beyond compliance: From principles to practice

The 2019 paper by IBM talks majorly about the disparity in views of business leaders and consumers and how CEOs view ethical issues as less important than either their C-level team or board members do.

The report authored by Brian Goehring, Francesca Rossi, and Dave Zaharchuk further advises acting collaboratively to deal with the complex and novel issues which cannot be dealt with as an individual organisation.

Responsible Use of Technology

Building on this paper by the World Economic Forum, the Responsible Development, Deployment and Use of Technology project seeks to produce a framework and suite of implementation tools for organisations to use to advance responsible technology practices.

These tools will implement our desire for a smart and deliberate combination of both ethics‑based and human‑rights‑based approaches. With a multi-stakeholder steering committee now in place, the project is focused on pursuing global stakeholder input and participation. 

Bridging AI’s trust gaps: Aligning policymakers and companies

A global survey conducted jointly by The Future Society and EYQ (Ernst & Young’s global think tank), uncovered significant disparities in alignment between private sector entities and policymakers. These disparities, outlined in this white paper, can lead to new legal challenges for the stakeholders.

The paper’s primary objective is to address questions regarding the alignment between policymakers and corporations. It delves into their current state of alignment, sheds light on their priority areas concerning AI applications, and evaluates the extent of corporate awareness regarding emerging issues in this domain.