The global retailer H&M Group’s AI ethics approach acknowledges that formal procedures only go so far. Managers focus on building everyone’s moral compass to make good decisions, one conversation at a time. “You can’t approach AI ethics with only formal procedures,” say leaders at H&M Group.
To help build its collective moral compass, the company has fostered a culture of AI ethics grounded in experimentation. Its AI ethics training emphasizes concrete business examples and principles that teach employees how to make ethically sound decisions. H&M Group’s example demonstrates that organizations can practice AI ethics effectively even without a definitive blueprint.
Artificial intelligence transforms organizational operations, presenting new ethical challenges: Who takes responsibility for automated decisions? How much autonomy should algorithms have? How should human-machine interactions be organized?
Where are biases embedded in the system? Companies, regulators, and policymakers grapple with these questions as they seek ethical guidelines to navigate complex moral landscapes. They often adopt a linear strategy: identify universal values like transparency, fairness, and human autonomy, define their applications, and formalize them in codes of conduct.
H&M’s AI ethics experimentation approach
The expectation is that ethical codes should override the computational code. However, this linear approach may be too simplistic.
German philosopher of technology Günther Anders warned of a “Promethean gap” between our ability to imagine and invent new technologies and our ethical capacity to manage them. With AI, this gap broadens into a chasm. Rapid AI developments outstrip the deliberations over ethical guidelines.
Static, rule-based ethics struggle to keep pace with AI’s rapid advancements, which challenge fundamental values and our understanding of humanity itself. Therefore, experts suggest that an “ethics of experimentation” is a more effective framework for addressing AI’s ethical challenges. How does an “AI ethics of experimentation” work in practice?
And how can companies bridge the gap between moral imagination and AI’s technological power? Insights from H&M Group provided pragmatic answers. Linda Leopold, H&M Group’s head of AI strategy, which includes AI ethics, has dedicated the past six years to embedding the responsible use of AI throughout the organization.
Our strategy is built on a combination of governance and culture,” Leopold explained. “You can’t approach AI ethics only with formal procedures.”
Image Credits: Photo by Smartworks Coworking on Unsplash
Cameron is a highly regarded contributor in the rapidly evolving fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. His articles delve into the theoretical underpinnings of AI, the practical applications of machine learning across industries, ethical considerations of autonomous systems, and the societal impacts of these disruptive technologies.
