Page 263 - Kaleidoscope Academic Conference Proceedings 2024

ADVANCING TRUSTWORTHY AI FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STANDARDISING AI INCIDENT REPORTING

1
Avinash, Agarwal and Manisha, Nene 2
1
(avinash.70@gov.in) Telecommunication Engineering Centre, Ministry of Communications, New Delhi, India
2
(mjnene@diat.ac.in) Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Ministry of Defence, Pune, India

ABSTRACT Several studies highlight that if not deployed responsibly and
ethically, AI could impede the achievement of the UN SDGs
The increasing use of AI technologies has led to increasing [5, 6]. For instance, algorithmic biases in hiring processes
AI incidents, posing risks and causing harm to individuals, could exacerbate inequalities in employment opportunities,
organizations, and society. This study recognizes and thereby impeding progress toward SDG 8 (Decent Work and
addresses the lack of standardized protocols for reliably Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) [7].
and comprehensively gathering such incident data crucial
for preventing future incidents and developing mitigating Principles of Responsible AI, such as those proposed by
strategies. Specifically, this study analyses existing Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
open-access AI-incident databases through a systematic (OECD), emphasize inclusive growth, sustainability, fairness,
methodology and identifies nine gaps in current AI incident transparency, robustness, and accountability of AI systems
reporting practices. Further, it proposes nine actionable [8]. Compliance with these principles can ensure that AI
recommendations to enhance standardization efforts to systems aid and do not hamper the achievement of UN
address these gaps. Ensuring the trustworthiness of enabling SDGs. Standards, benchmarks, and standardized assessment
technologies such as AI is necessary for sustainable digital procedures are needed to ensure that AI systems meet
transformation. Our research promotes the development the responsible AI principles [9, 10]. Comprehensive
of standards to prevent future AI incidents and promote data collected through different AI lifecycle stages and
trustworthy AI, thus facilitating achieving the UN sustainable deployments in diverse scenarios drives the assessment of
development goals. Through international cooperation, compliance with these responsible AI principles.
stakeholders can unlock the transformative potential of AI,
enabling a sustainable and inclusive future for all. Learning from past AI incidents is a crucial way to avoid
repeat incidents. The aviation industry has well-established
Keywords - AI incident database, AI harm, adversarial protocols for collecting aviation incident-related data.
attack, SDG, standardization, sustainability Systematically collecting and analyzing details of aviation
incidents have resulted in continuous product improvement
1. INTRODUCTION and mitigation strategies, leading to a drastic reduction in
aviation accidents [11, 12]. Similarly, cybersecurity incident
The proliferation of AI technologies across diverse domains reporting is well-established and supported by regulations in
has led to rapidly increasing AI incidents ranging from many countries [13].
algorithmic biases and deepfakes to system failures and
unintended consequences. These incidents pose risks to Transparent disclosure of incidents, comprehensive
individuals, organizations, and society, thus undermining compilation of AI incident data, and their systematic analysis
overall trust and confidence in AI technologies. Recognizing can provide crucial data for developing mitigation strategies
the importance of addressing these risks, stakeholders and promoting the deployment of trustworthy AI [14].
are increasingly focusing on identifying, analyzing, and Against the backdrop of the UN SDGs, which seek to
mitigating AI-related risks and harms. address pressing global challenges and promote sustainable
development, the need for standardized AI incident reporting
Sustainable digital transformation, driven by innovative becomes even more pronounced. This paper identifies and
technologies such as AI, can accelerate progress towards addresses the critical gap in the availability of standards
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and protocols for systematic AI incident reporting and data
for example by enhancing access to quality healthcare (SDG sharing.
3) [1], education (SDG 4) [2], managing water crisis and
sanitation (SDG 6) [3], and climate change adaptation In light of these considerations, this paper explores the
(SDG 13) [4], among other benefits. However, realizing intersection of AI incident reporting, sustainable digital
this potential requires a concerted effort to ensure that AI transformation, and the UN SDGs. By analyzing the current
technologies are deployed responsibly and ethically, with due state ofAI incidentreporting, identifying gaps andchallenges,
consideration for their societal and environmental impacts. and proposing recommendations for improvement, this

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