The AI Dilemma
7 Principles for Responsible Technology
by Juliette Powell and Art Kleiner
Published August 15, 2023
by Berrett-Koehler (Penguin)
AI holds incredible promise to improve virtually every aspect of our lives, but we can’t ignore its risks, mishaps and misuses. Juliette Powell and Art Kleiner offer seven principles for ensuring that machine learning supports human flourishing. They draw on Powell’s research at Columbia University and use a wealth of real-world examples.
Four principles relate to AI systems themselves. Human risk must be rigorously determined and consciously included in any design process. AI systems must be understandable and transparent to any observer, not just the engineers working on them.
People must be allowed to protect and manage their personal data. The biases embedded in AI must be confronted and reduced.
The final three principles pertain to the organizations that create AI systems. There must be procedures in place to hold them accountable for negative consequences. Organizations need to be loosely structured so that problems in one area can be isolated and resolved before they spread and sabotage the whole system. Finally, there must be psychological safety and creative friction, so that anyone involved in software development can bring problems to light without fear of reprisal.
Powell and Kleiner explore how to implement each principle, citing current best practices, promising new developments, and sobering cautionary tales. Incorporating the perspectives of engineers, businesspeople, government officials, and social activists, this book will help us realize the unprecedented benefits and opportunities AI systems can provide.
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“I am learning so much, and it is challenging some of my preconceived notions.”
— Om Malik
Writer & Partner Emeritus, True Ventures
"This thought-provoking book shows what it takes to restore trust in our institutions and in our digital infrastructures."
— Dorie Clark
Author of The Long Game and faculty, Duke University Fuqua School of Business
“The AI Dilemma has taken a subject and focused and clarified it so it can be understood and effectively acted upon. The book deserves a large audience.”
— James O’Toole
Author of The Enlightened Capitalists
“Powell and Kleiner clearly lay out the daunting dilemma that AI presents for humanity and propose seven principles for making our way forward.”
— Adam Kahane
Author of Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change and director of Reos Partners
“You will not find wiser, more careful, more caring guides to this brave new world than the two authors of The AI Dilemma.”
— Amy Edmondson
Professor, Harvard Business School and author of The Fearless Organization
“With the benefit of Powell and Kleiner's clear-eyed explanations, we may yet avoid the mistakes we made with the Internet and pretty much every technology before it.”
— Douglas Rushkoff
Author of Present Shock, Team Human, and Survival of the Richest
“Powell and Kleiner have created a must-read for all living in this disruptive moment.”
— Ron Dembo
Author of Risk Thinking and founder and CEO of RiskThinking
“The A.I. Dilemma is an essential playbook for anyone who cares about a future in which A.I. solves more problems than it creates.”
— April Rinne
Author of Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change