Fair and responsible AI for consumers
Fiji and the world celebrated World Consumer Rights Day last week with the theme ‘Fair and responsible AI for consumers’, and perhaps now is as good a time as any for this to get some coverage on business and tech. World Consumer Rights Day is marked on March 15 every year. The day is observed to create awareness about the rights of all consumers against fraud, discrimination, and anything that may take unfair advantage of consumers around the world. Markets of any kind function best when consumers and corporations are both protected. Consumers must have access to impartial and precise information regarding the goods and services they buy. Consumer rights keep individuals from being taken advantage of or duped by companies and empower them to make the best decisions based on their interests.
IN today’s digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) permeates various aspects of consumers’ lives, from personalised recommendations on e-commerce platforms to automated decision-making in financial services. As AI technologies become increasingly prevalent, the potential risks and implications for consumer rights come into sharper focus.
It is therefore critical that the introduction of new technology such as AI is thoroughly vetted from a consumer rights perspective (among other perspectives) and that the public is protected, not just from the tech itself, but also from criminals who will inevitably take advantage of the new technology to scam consumers out of their money.
Consumer safety is the first and foremost area of interest when it comes to AI products.
Remember, we live in an era of autonomous vehicles being widely available on the commercial market (though not yet in Fiji), and these vehicles are fully AI-controlled, navigating roads through satellites and sensors, allowing users to be free while the vehicle transports them. From a consumer perspective, there has to be a high degree of safety measures taken by producers and vendors of such products.
The complexity grows tenfold when we realise that AI can autonomously adapt and evolve, continuously learning and refining its behaviour and patterns without human intervention.
The question then arises: What will an AI system perceive as improvement, and does it align with the consumer’s expectations when they initially purchase the product? This topic is far from straightforward and raises challenges for authorities and legislators everywhere.
The complexities get even more apparent when you realise that AI is working itself into everything.
Our phones and digital devices now all have some degree of AI assistance. Cameras, surveillance devices, and smart homes, including products like fridges, fire alarms, and many other basic household appliances, are not all interconnected with AI systems.
The health sector, including diagnostics and procedures, is very quickly moving towards AI, adding to the growing headache for governments and authorities. What protocols need to be put in place to prevent an AI-powered robot from giving a person unwanted surgery because it decided it was the most efficient path?
While AI-powered products and services, such as autonomous vehicles and healthcare diagnostics, have the potential to improve consumer safety and well-being, concerns about the reliability, accuracy, and safety of AI systems must be addressed to prevent harm to consumers. Regulatory oversight and rigorous testing are necessary to ensure that AI technologies meet safety standards and protect consumers from harm.
Numerous laws in Fiji, and in particular the FCCC Act, are aimed at shielding customers against dishonest, deceptive, and aggressive business activities. It is, however, not easy to apply the existing laws to AI-based goods and services. How can users evaluate the usefulness and quality of a product that is continuously learning and changing? How can traders make sure that the details they give customers on AI-based goods and services are true, comprehensive, and open? If they don’t completely understand the decision-making process of the AI model, how can they respond to complaints or claims from customers?
There are, of course, the usual concerns, namely data privacy and algorithmic bias.
Data privacy concerns loom large in the realm of AI and consumer rights. As AI systems gather and analyze vast amounts of personal data to make decisions and predictions, there is a heightened risk of privacy breaches and unauthorised access to sensitive information. Consumers may be unaware of how their data is being collected and used. Fiji does not have robust regulations and safeguards in place to protect data privacy, putting us at risk.
Algorithmic bias is already occurring. Algorithms are designed to make decisions and predictions based on data, but they can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in the data they are trained on. For example, if the AI algorithm is trained on historical hiring data that predominantly favors male candidates over female candidates, it may inadvertently perpetuate gender bias by selecting more male applicants for interview invitations.
These among other things need to be very carefully examined and considered. There is a considerable lack of expertise in the area of AI and tech in Fiji. The world has moved far past our way of doing things including business and education, a gap we must very quickly close.
It is however great to see many organisations already making efforts to close these gaps.
I work quite a bit with the Fiji Law Society, and it is great to see that the legal sector has already started thoroughly looking at the implications of new technology for law.
At the FLS annual convention this year, the topic of AI, technology and its implications for lawyers was discussed extensively, and this bodes well for lawyers both present and future.
This is exactly what our industry leaders need to be doing: incorporating technology into every aspect of their industry to assess potential impacts as we inevitably sail towards artificial intelligence.
Until next week, take care and be safe.
is an investor and business executive with years of tech expertise. He can be contacted on ceo@ vanguardtech.pro. The views expressed in this article are his and not of this newspaper.