Public policy, ethics and regulation are constantly evolving around AI and other emerging data-driven technologies. In the race to gain competitive edge, companies and organisations that put AI & Data at the heart of their future cannot afford to wait for international consensus or common norms. Tech leaders and pioneers are, de facto, setting norms by their business decisions. Such decisions do not rarely meet with controversy regarding socio-economic impact or privacy. First movers need an antenna to anticipate the politics and ethics of planned technology deployments, particularly across geographies and be constantly tuned into the level of customer acceptance.
Magna Carta helps tech pioneers be prepared, act consciously and consistently through policies and governance structures that can be referred to in case of controversy or incidents triggered by cybersecurity attacks, privacy and data breaches, speculative media, ethical dilemma's, regulatory pressure or political change.
We developed a concept based on a modular approach to policy management that builds on top of common technology governance principles such as ‘Fairness’, ‘Accountability’, ‘Transparency’, 'Security', ‘Ethics’ and ‘Privacy’. In order to generate trust and differentiate brands in the market place as operating responsibly and mindful of the impact of technology, we advise companies and organisations to think beyond compliance and actively manage their trust credentials:
- Demonstrably walk the talk on principles and values.
- Implement internal governance structures to ensure accountability for the socio-economic impact of technology.
- Prove due diligence on data practices, for example regarding origin and quality of training data for machine learning.
- Be transparent and demonstrate leadership by articulating a strategic vision and a public policy, by actively seeking feedback and buy-in from within the organisation and from external stakeholders.
- Commit to customer-centricity around ownership and control of data.
INTERNATIONAL SCOPE
Magna Carta's scope is international. Digital infrastructures that connect us are global, data streams that feed emerging technologies flow across borders, technology leaders operate in various jurisdictions, the debate on governance and norms around AI and other data-driven technologies is shaping up globally. The answer to the question what constitutes responsible and ethical conduct around emerging technology is not confined to national borders.
We cover policy making & regulation at the level of local and national governments, EU institutions and supervisory authorities such as the European Data Protection Supervisor, as well as international organisations such as the United Nations, OECD, IEEE, business leadership platforms such as World Economic Forum and leading think tanks such AI Now.
Magna Carta monitors and analyses policy best practices from companies and organisations, as well as thought leadership from think tanks and academics from around the world. We incorporate these insights into our advice in order to arrive at the strongest possible positioning and strategy around emerging technologies for our clients.
