Spanish telco Telefónica says it is one of the first companies in the world to have ethical Artificial Intelligence guidelines to guarantee a positive impact on society.

With the Principles of Artificial Intelligence that have been released this week (https://www.telefonica.com/en/web/responsible-business/our-commitments/ai-principles), the telco says it is committed to designing, developing, and using AI with integrity and transparency, with privacy and security also in mind. The principles extend throughout the entire value/supply chain, through partners and providers.

From now on, Telefónica said it will assess the projects which include Artificial Intelligence in accordance with the following ethical principles with the goal of “humanising” the use of technology for the benefit of everyone.

They cover areas such as fairness (giving fair results, regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or any other personal condition); transparency (users should know that they are interacting with an AI system); being people-centred (AI must be at the service of society and not the other way around); privacy (keeping data personal and, where appropriate, anonymous); and validating the systems and data used by third-party providers.

In addition, the company intends to double its efforts to prevent inadequate trends and uses of Artificial Intelligence. “We’re concerned about the possible use of artificial intelligence for the creation or dissemination of fake news, addiction to technology, and the possible reinforcement of social bias in the algorithms in general”.

“These phenomena undermine the trust of our customers, our most valuable asset, and hinder the development of a fairer society. Consequently, we will do everything in our power to collaborate with other entities in order to eradicate them”, it adds.

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