ECA News Compass #27: customer empowerment through data ownership, AI and philosophy, society, and ethics.
Ethical Commerce Alliance
An alliance of retailers, brands and responsible tech makers committed to Ethical AI.
Welcome to the ECA Compass!
We recommend weekly news and headlines from a broad range of topics at the intersection of AI and society, technology, law & regulation, business and online retail.
Get your weekly dose of tailored news into your inbox, subscribe now and join the ECA community!
Week: 7 - 14 May
Highlights of the week:?
Retailers Ignoring Customer Privacy, Website Usability Put Business at Risk
"Technology and security provider firm Thales released its 2024 Digital Trust Index Ranking in February. The report revealed that only 8% of consumers feel comfortable sharing their personal details with online vendors."
We are conducting a similar index annually, with a higher focus on retail brands, check out last years' results here, are you in the ranking?:
(stay tuned for RTI 2024!)
Also related:
Borja Santaolalla 's weekly Walk in the Park: from passive data subjects who “provide” consent, to empowered customers with agency to control their data.
?
Privacy & Data Ethics
U.S. Antitrust Case Against Google Is Just the Start
The U.S. government is actively pursuing several major antitrust cases against Big Tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Apple, and Meta, accusing them of monopolistic practices, such as imposing third-party app restrictions (Apple) or creating a social media monopoly (Meta).
?
No facial recognition in supermarkets, says Dutch data watchdog
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has issued guidelines on the use of facial recognition technology. The guidelines were established after a 2020 incident where a supermarket's attempt to use the technology for security was blocked due to privacy violations.
?
Why Engineers Should Study Philosophy
“Having a crisp mental model around a problem, being able to break it down into steps that are tractable, perfect first-principle thinking, sometimes being prepared (and able to) debate a stubborn AI — these are the skills that will make a great engineer in the future, and likely the same consideration applies to many job categories.”
?
Trustworthy AI & Customer Empowerment
The ‘godmother’ of AI is getting into the startup game
Fei-Fei Li is launching a new startup focused on developing AI capable of advanced reasoning through human-like processing of visual data.?
Li's venture into the startup world follows her influential work with ImageNet and her role in advancing AI at Stanford and Google. Her new company aims to enhance spatial intelligence capabilities in AI, which could improve how robots and computers understand and interact with their environments.?
领英推荐
?Further reading on this topic:
?
Let’s not make the same mistakes with AI that we made with social media
Advertising, surveillance, virality, lock-in, monopolisation… have all had a negative impact on society—and AI might have similar attributes. There is a need for regulation to avoid repeating the mistakes made with social media, emphasising the need for antitrust laws, transparency, oversight, and the development of public-option AI tools.
?
AI and the End of the Human Writer
If a computer can write like a person, what does that say about the nature of our own creativity?
?
The teens making friends with AI chatbots
Find out more about children's online safety in our LinkedIn Live chat to support the film Molly vs The Machines:
We don’t need an AI manifesto — we need a constitution
AI has the potential to alter life decisions such as employment, loans, and university admissions, all civil rights that emphasise the need for a constitution to govern AI’s integration into our society.?
??
Building Ethical AI: How To Take A User-Centered Approach
Tech companies integrating AI must prioritise user well-being and ethics to avoid biases and privacy issues. Strategies include adopting responsible AI frameworks, using specialised models, ensuring human oversight, transparency, clear data management, and user feedback loops. It's also important to embed ethics early, establish governance, and prioritise user control over data.
Ethics in Commerce
How Much Does Sustainability Influence Consumer Shopping Habits?
Sustainability is becoming a significant factor in consumer shopping habits according to the latest findings from Kroger data partner 84.51? , which reveals that over half of U.S. shoppers are concerned about climate change. Among Kroger shoppers, millennials (68%) are the most concerned with climate change, followed by Gen X (57%) and baby boomers (50%). Many are actively seeking sustainable products, particularly those related to paper, household cleaning supplies, and food.?
Thank you for reading!
Find out more about the Ethical Commerce Alliance in our LinkedIn page or website: ethicalalliance.co and subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates!
Want to talk with us? Reach us at: [email protected]
Ethically,
The ECA Team