Turning point: policymaking in the era of artificial intelligence

In the early twenty-first century, many governments have embraced the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) including language translation, facial recognition and personal assistance. At the same time, many are still wondering about the extent to which AI can be effective in policy-making, diplomacy and intelligence analysis. Can it really provide equitable access to data and reduce bias or discrimination, as well as protect privacy and safety? Three newly published books explore this question and the dual-use aspects of AI. Turning point offers a timely reminder for stakeholders, including governments, militaries, intelligence communities and companies, of the potential negative impacts of algorithmic-based decision-making in the context of five fields: health care, education, transport, e-commerce and defence. As the authors suggest, the performance of AI systems is directly dependent on the quality of data. Hence, in instances where the data are not standardized and well logged, analysis and decisions made by AI systems can be problematic. For the authors, these limitations can emerge as a result of ‘having unrepresentative or incomplete data or using AI in ways that promote biases based on race, gender, age, income, and geography’ (p. 35).