In this episode we're talking about ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Rumblings about the future of AI have been surfacing as well as questions about whether human biases are affecting the decisions AIs are making. Those questions are finding their way into our profession.

A recent Accounting Today article reports a growing number of accounting service solutions are using AI for a wide range of applications. The accounting profession has spent $1.5 billion on this type of software in 2021 and is projected to spend $53 billion by 2030, according to a report from Acumen Research & Consulting. The Accounting Today article notes that despite this rapid growth, "too little attention has been paid to the ethical considerations that come with it". Sage's CTO, Erin Harris says in a quote, "The current issues are less to do with the accidental creation of a robot overlord and more about the insertion of human biases into the code". The main issue is not the technology in it of itself, it is our human biases impacting the way the technology works.

Biometric Update, recently published an article listing the 6 key considerations for ethical AI in financial services:

1. Fairness & bias
2. Trust & transparency
3. Privacy
4. Accountability
5. Security
6. Social benefits

The author, Matt Peake, writes, "If just one of these fails, it can have series consequences for individuals and businesses".

However, the upside is that there are groups developing AI committed to the betterment of our world.

I speak with today's guest, Enrico Palmerino, Founder & CEO of Botkeeper, about the role of ethics in AI, the types of biases in AI, how we can protect ourselves and our clients from these biases, and what the future marriage of AI and human intelligence looks like.

Resources

• Accounting Today article, "AI ethics a growing concern", by Chris Gaetano
• Acumen Research & Consulting report, Artificial Intelligence in Accounting Market Analysis - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends and Forecast 2022 - 2030
• Biometric Update article, "Six key considerations for ethical AI in financial services", by Matt Peake
• Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, from the White House
• "AI for Good" initiative, from the UN
• Botkeeper, automated bookkeeping solution
• Enrico Palmerino, Founder & CEO, Botkeeper, Linkedin profile