2024 Ethical Wrap-Up ???
Ethical Commerce Alliance
An alliance of retailers, brands and responsible tech makers committed to Ethical AI.
Welcome to the Ethical Commerce Alliance weekly newsletter ! ??
To end the year, we have gathered 2024 a wrap-up of news from 2024 related to AI, Accountability, Privacy, and Social Media. ??
This week, we have also listed the all the events that hosted through the Ethical Commerce Alliance (ECA) in 2024, so you can see what we have been up to at this year!
News Wrap Up ??
2024 for AI???
???? The EU AI act - A Milestone in AI Regulation:
The EU AI Act, which entered into force on July 12, 2024, is a comprehensive framework designed to ensure AI systems are safe, secure, and ethical. Key aspects include:
?? Risk-Based Regulation: Categorizing AI into four risk levels with corresponding obligations.
?? Prohibiting Harmful AI: Banning AI systems that pose significant risks, such as social scoring.
?? Strict Oversight: High-risk AI systems, used in areas like education and law enforcement must meet stringent requirements, including risk assessments and human oversight.
?? Transparency: Mandating clear labeling and information for AI-generated content and chatbots.
???? US National Security Memorandum on AI?
In October 2024, the Biden administration issued a National Security Memorandum on AI, outlining a comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. AI leadership while ensuring safety and security. ??
The purpose of this Memorandum is to:?
?? Promote and Secure AI: Enhance domestic AI development, protect the U.S. AI ecosystem, and ensure AI safety.
?? National Security Integration: Update policies and governance to integrate AI into national security.
?? Global Governance: Shape international AI norms to support safety, security, and democratic values.
?? Interagency Coordination: Establish mechanisms for coordination, reporting, and talent management.
The Memorandum includes a framework for AI governance and risk management in national security, along with a classified annex addressing sensitive issues. It builds on the 2023 Executive Order on AI, providing specific directives for government agencies.
This initiative marks a significant step in the U.S. government's efforts to leverage AI for national security while upholding human rights and democratic values. ??
However, it is expected that the Trump Administration will adopt a lighter regulatory approach to AI, focusing on innovation and reducing regulatory barriers.???
A new executive order drafted by the America First Policy Institute will likely replace the National Security Memorandum with one that emphasizes boosting AI use in the military domain and reducing regulatory barriers.???
Making AI Accountable and Ethical ??
In 2024, several labs ?? focused on AI accountability and making AI ethical were established. These institutions are dedicated to researching ethical frameworks, mitigating bias, and ensuring responsible AI development across various sectors. The objective of these is to do research to ensure that AI technologies are transparent, just and accountable.?????
Examples of these labs are:?
We believe that these labs are ?? essential ?? to raising awareness on the damages of AI from an interdisciplinary perspective, looking to understand current AI advancements making those unethical, accountable while ensuring a better, ethical future for AI advancement.?
Generative AI in Retail????
As 2024 wraps up, the retail industry's adoption of generative AI has shown significant progress, with companies expecting an 88% increase in AI spending.???
However, As happens commonly, rapid growth comes with? ethical considerations. ??
In January 2024, a Talkdesk consumer survey revealed that only 46% of shoppers believe AI-powered recommendations include diverse consumers, highlighting the need for more inclusive AI systems.???
To address these concerns, retailers are focusing on three key areas:
?? Developing internal policies for ethical AI use (88% of consumers agree)
?? Monitoring and mitigating AI bias (86% agree)
?? Proactively communicating about AI use and potential biases (83% agree)
The retail sector is more concerned about ethics, bias, fairness, and safety compared to overall industry trends. This awareness is driving a positive shift towards responsible AI implementation, with companies striving to balance innovation with ethical considerations.
As we move into 2025, the focus on transparent, unbiased, and inclusive AI systems in retail is expected to strengthen, fostering greater consumer trust and more personalized shopping experiences.
Social Media ??
?Rise of Decentralised Social Media Platforms:???
This year, we have seen an increase in traction for decentralised platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon.?
The creation and popularity of these platforms demonstrates that users are increasingly prioritising privacy, transparency and control over their content. This trend shows that people are starting to understand that privacy rights are human rights!
We have joined the trend too! Follow our Bluesky account here???
Social Media bans - who will be joining Australia in 2025??????
Australia has been a pioneer in protecting children from the harms of social media, banning all under 16s from some of these platforms. ?Australia’s approach looks to prohibit under- 16s from social media while protecting privacy rights by not requiring government identification as part of the verification process. Moreover, neither the users nor their parents will face punishment for violating this law; instead, corporations will be fined. The law will take effect in 2025. ????
Additionally, other countries are considering similar restrictions:?
???? In the UK, technology secretary Peter Kyle said a possible social media ban for under 16s is “on the table”.?Kyle emphasized his commitment to "do whatever is necessary" to ensure the safety of individuals, particularly children, in the digital space.
???? Norway, which currently has a minimum age limit of 13 for social media use, is looking to amend the Personal Data Act. The proposed changes would require users to be at least 15 years old to agree for platforms to handle their personal data. Norway is also looking to introduce an age verification barrier for social media.??
???? Greece has also chosen to follow Australia’s ban by integrating a new mechanism into parental control apps, where parents can block content or harmful keywords. Platforms will also adjust algorithms.?
How 2024 has been at the Ethical Commerce Alliance?
This year at the ECA, we have hosted 12 events! ?? Here is a wrap up of all the events, which are still available to watch in our youtube channel and LinkedIn
January
领英推荐
?? AI’s Blind Spot: Beauty, Subjectivity and Chaos, a Conversation with álex-Gómez-Marín:?
In this conversation, with álex Gómez Marín, neuroscientist at the institute of Neurosciences of Alicante, we discuss the gap between consciousness and technology. In the tech industry, and with algorithms we tend to objectivise subjective experiences, learn more about this here! ??
February?
?? Personalised AI is not Personal
LinkedIn Live With Jamie Smith?? Founder at Customer Futures Ltd and Borja Santaolalla Co-Founder at empathy.co and Ethics Advisor at the ECA.
We discussed the idea of customer disengagement, covering personal AI, digital wallets ?? and disruptive new business models. Enjoy this discussion here on youtube!?
April
?? My Purchases: A Real Case on Trust and Data
In April, we discussed with Kai Kuikkaniemi Co-Founder at Cadentia Technologies and Borja Santaolalla , S-mobile’s My Purchase service, which focuses on customer centricity rather than company centricity and customer disengagement.
You can re-watch this here on youtube! ??
June
?? This Summer we hosted the Retail Trust Index (RTI) event in London
In this event, we listened to great voices ??? such as Carissa Véliz , Dr Stephanie Hare , Jamie Smith?? , Nick Baskett and gianfranco cuzziol
The purpose of RTI was to host an event to redefine privacy and customer trust in retail by presenting a study that analyzed online tracking practices, cookie usage ?? and data breaches among top UK retail brands. ?????
Our focus was to discuss new approaches to recover shoppers’ trust in the retail industry.???
July??
?? Can Retailers Trust LLMs? A Conversation with Stephanie Hare:?
We hosted a linkedIn live with Dr Stephanie Hare , BBC presenter and author of "Technology is Not Neutral" and Angel Maldonado , founder of Empathy.co and the Ethical Alliance.
?? Privacy-Centric Customer Strategies: Establishing Trust Without Tracking:?
In this linkedIn live, gianfranco cuzziol , personalisation Expert and Borja Santaolalla discuss customer data ownership and data minimalism in retail. From surveillance to sharing.?
?? Molly vs The Machines:?
The ECA is contributing to finance the film “Molly vs The Machines” directed by Marc Silver and in collaboration with Shoshan Zuboff, author of “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism”.
In July of this year, we hosted a discussion with Angel Maldonado , Tanya O'Carroll , expert of technology and human rights and Marc Silver on the project of the film. Learn more about it here!?
We are looking forward to the movie release in April!????
August
?? Building Your Own Consent Solution:
?In this LinkedIn Live with Andrea López Suárez , from Visible Privacy - EmpathyHoldings.com and Borja Santaolalla , we discussed consent requests and consent solutions, how to build, own and implement these in an ethical way.
This Live is available on LinkedIn here.?
?? Transhumanism - The Singularity is Nearer:?
Transhumanism is the belief that advanced technologies can enhance human physical and cognitive capabilities beyond biological limitations.???
In this Live, we discuss with Carissa Véliz , author of “Privacy is Power”, álex-Gómez Marín, neuroscientist at the institute of Neurosciences of Alicante, and Angel Maldonado the risks of human enhancement with technologies and how these should be regulated.???
October?
?? From Ethical Personalisation to Domain Super Apps:?
In this Conversation with StJohn "Singe" Deakins , CEO at DataSapien , Ket Patel , Data Monetisation Expert and Borja Santaolalla we discuss how brands can deliver personalised experiences without breaches in privacy or consumer trust. ??
The conversation on ethical personalisation, tailored user-consent experiences and Domain Super Apps is available to watch here!?
?? The Race for AI ‘Supremacy’?
In this very special LinkedIn Live event, we discussed Parmy Olson book - "Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World”. This book as you know, has recently won FT & Schroders Business Book of the year! ??
Does regulation affect innovation? Do consumers really trust AI models? What can we expect from the future of AI? ??
Checkout this Live where, along with Dr Stephanie Hare and Angel Maldonado , we explored these questions!?
November?
?? The End of Hallucinations: Fully Formatted Facts & Factual Responses?
In this event with Angel Maldonado and Andrés Doncel Ramírez , backend developer at empathy.co, we introduced empathy.ai.?
In an attempt to eliminate hallucinations ?? that GenAI occasionally generates, we are looking to bridge the gap between facts and literal responses.?
Watch this video, where we explain the difference between Factual and Generative AI and how we can combine these to obtain factual responses.??
December
?? Open Consent: The Power of Open Source
We closed the year with an event with our partner Visible Privacy - EmpathyHoldings.com where Pablo Ca?al Suárez and Andrea López Suárez told us about Open Consent, an open-source consent solution that gives enterprises the power to build their own consent platforms.
Learn more about this on this LinkedIn event!?
Happy New Year ?? ??
It has been a very busy year for AI and as you can see, it has also been quite busy at the Ethical Commerce Alliance.???
We are delighted to always put ethics first in an industry that well… we know sometimes it lacks it.???
For this reason, we will make sure that 2??0??2??5?? is filled with ethics and joy. ?We have a lot to learn and a long way to change the narrative of the industry, but this year has shown progress and an opportunity to change how things work around here.?
We wish you a happy new year and we hope you are as excited for an ethical 2025!???
Thank you for reading!
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Ethically,
The ECA Team
Philosopher/Ethicist | Data | Artificial Intelligence | Policy
1 个月Great