Why the Business Roundtable just released new guidelines for ‘responsible’ A.I.

A new example of stakeholder capitalism at work is out this morning. The Business Roundtable released guidelines for companies to develop “responsible A.I.,” along with guidance for the U.S. Government to develop policies and regulations for A.I. The second piece—advising government on policies and regulations—has long been part of the BRT’s remit. But the first piece—advising companies how to adopt artificial intelligence in a way that maximizes positive social impact and minimizes negative—is new. 

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet led the CEOs in developing the guidelines. I spoke with her on Friday and asked why they are being released now.

“We really believe we are at a tipping point where A.I. At scale is happening. There is true momentum. So we need to act now so that as we deploy at scale, we can act responsibly. You cannot reverse engineer responsible A.I.”

Sweet said the guidelines were developed over a six-month period with input from virtually all the BRT’s 230 member companies. When I asked if any of the companies objected to the guidelines, she responded: “Not to my knowledge.”

“This is a great example of the commitment to living our purpose to serve all stakeholders. It is a defining moment for how companies can collaborate and innovate for the benefit of all.”

The guidelines focus, among other things, on:

• Ensuring A.I. Systems are developed by diverse teams, with diverse oversight;
• Employing safeguards to ensure unfair biases aren’t built into A.I. Systems, and building A.I. Systems that mitigate human bias;
• Designing A.I. Systems that are transparent, explainable and interpretable;
• Ensuring A.I. Systems are constantly evaluated; that data is collected and used responsibly; that companies have culture and governance systems to support responsible A.I.; and that security safeguards exist from the outset;
• Investing in an A.I.-ready workforce.

That last one, of course, is critical. A.I. Has the ability to make work more productive and meaningful, but only if the workforce has the skills needed to use it productively and responsibly. The training challenge is immense—for companies, educational institutions, and governments.

As for policy and regulation, the BRT, not surprisingly, urged a cautious approach, that is industry-specific and use-case-specific. That’s different than the cross-industry approach the EU has taken, as Coins2Day’s Jeremy Kahn explains smartly here.

Do these BRT recommendations ensure all companies will take a “responsible” approach to developing A.I.? Almost certainly not. The lobbying group has no enforcement tools. But is it good that CEOs are wrestling questions of potential social impact before rolling out A.I. At scale? I think the answer is clearly yes. It wouldn’t have hurt if social media companies had done the same a decade ago.

You can learn more about the BRT guidelines here. Other news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
[email protected]

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This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.