The year in tech 2022

One of the latest HBR books, The year in tech 2022 provides insight into the emerging issues leaders in the tech space are thinking about. It’s an accessible, short read, that spans topics including AI, VR, Smart contracts and Blockchain.

The article that caught my attention was “A Practical Guide to Building Ethical AI”. In his call to scale AI ethics in parallel to AI adoption, Reid Blackman cites the increasing regulatory and legal risks that can and are materially impacting business operations (pg 3). He continues to explain that a failure to “operationalize data and AI ethics” is a threat to the bottom line, and “leads to wasted resources, inefficiencies in product development and deployment, and even an inability to use data to train AI models” (pg 4).

One strategy for mitigating these risks is to leverage existing data governance, privacy, and compliance infrastructure to create and implement a data and AI ethics program (pg 8). As an example, Blackman suggests one iteration of this program would be for companies to place an emphasis on the client’s (i) informed consent and (ii) comprehension, regarding the use of their data (pg 11).

In the Canadian context, this recommendation is in keeping with the consent guidelines of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) ( https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/collecting-personal-information/consent/gl_omc_201805/ ). While AI implementation may still currently be in it’s infancy, amidst rapid advancements in the tech ecosystem, regulatory obligations are already here. Blackman reminds us that we can continue to expect growth in this area as information flows become exponentially more complicated. In order to ensure organizational success, AI and data ethics compliance programs must be a part of an organization’s continued strategy.

The year in tech 2022. Book, 2021, xviii, 156 pages ; 21 cm. ISBN: 1647821754 ; 9781647821753 Series: Insights you need from Harvard Business Review Subjects: Business--Technological innovations. ; Industrial management. ; Success in business.