Data for a Better World

In October, the Biden Administration published an AI-bill of rights to blueprint an AI world that protects individuals. This was an important philosophical document that serves as a guide to protecting the general public from being unfairly impacted by the use of AI and data strategies.

At the same time, I believe we need to look at the positive side of AI and data and highlight where data is having a positive impact on the “general public” such as health outcomes, understanding the impacts to our environment, academic life sciences research, predicting and avoiding sever impacts of weather conditions, and many other topics.

One of our goals at 1486 Labs is to highlight the use of data for good. I have long believed in the view of data and AI as an extension of human processing power and the presentation of data, analytics, and insights as a means of making better decisions and having a positive impact on our work, life, and dreams for a better world. While we must protect the individual from the misuse of data and AI (intentional and unintentional) that results in people not being treated fairly nor disadvantaged, we must recognize the good that lies ahead.

I often challenge my students to explore the disruptive nature of data and AI. We look at data and AI through the lens of other disruptive technologies that have emerged over the last 150 years such as electricity, the combustion engine, the internet, etc. While each of those technologies represented (and in some ways still do represent) challenges for humankind, the positive impacts on society and well-being cannot be denied.

Over the next year, 1486 Labs will begin to highlight the goodness in data to bring some sunshine to the cloudy days when we worry that the AI-driven robots will someday replace the human.