AI for social good: Highlighting positive applications of AI in addressing social challenges -- along with the potential pitfalls to avoid

Depending on who you ask, artificial intelligence could be the future of work or the harbinger of doom. The reality of AI technology falls somewhere between these two extremes. Although there are certainly some use cases of AI technology that could be harmful to society, others have seen the technology substantially improve their productivity and efficiency.

However, artificial intelligence has even more significant implications than improving the productivity of workers and businesses. Some use cases of AI have been proposed that could have profound social implications and address social challenges that are becoming more pressing today.

AI as a force for social good

One field in which AI technology has shown great potential to make a positive impact is education. Teachers are already underpaid and stretched thin, with widespread teacher shortages contributing to increasing class sizes. Because of these compounding issues, teachers often cannot provide individual support to students. AI technology can be used as a tool for supplemental learning, helping students who are struggling to get extra help or providing enrichment to more advanced students.

Artificial intelligence has also been used in positive ways in the healthcare industry. Because AI models can analyze medical data nearly instantaneously, they can improve diagnoses and predict disease outbreaks. This allows medical professionals to significantly improve their efficiency and further democratize access to healthcare. In the medical research side of the sector, AI’s predictive analytics capabilities can be leveraged to assist in the drug discovery process.

Many of AI’s capabilities can also be leveraged for sustainability purposes. For example, data analytics can monitor environmental changes while predictive analytics can optimize resource management and predict natural disasters. Using this data collected and analyzed by artificial intelligence, we can create a world that is safer and more sustainable.

AI shortcomings that must be addressed

However, artificial intelligence has shortcomings that we must consider before adopting it more widely. Beyond the misuse of the innovation by wrongdoers for nefarious purposes, artificial intelligence also has pitfalls that users could fall victim to. If we do not establish a framework for the responsible use of AI technology, we will not be able to harness its power for good.

One of the main concerns critics have expressed regarding the proliferation of artificial intelligence is its bias. AI is still entirely dependent on pre-existing data. As such, any bias in the data sets on which the model is trained will be reflected in its output. For example, if a model is trained on data that contains bias against certain social groups, these models can play a direct role in the proliferation of dangerous societal mores.

This data use has contributed to further challenges regarding users’ data privacy. Some artificial intelligence models use the data fed into them by users as part of their training process, which could expose users’ information. Ultimately, users must be diligent and proactive about their data privacy, ensuring they thoroughly understand all data policies, including privacy policies and terms of use, for any platform they use.

Critics have also expressed concern that AI and automation could contribute to the displacement of jobs. Proponents have countered, arguing that while automation will reduce the need for more menial jobs, those laborers could upskill or reskill into roles supervising the output of an automated process. Ideally, artificial intelligence would be used as a productivity-increasing tool, not a cost-cutting one, but the reality is rarely so black-and-white.

Ultimately, reaping the benefits of artificial intelligence as a tool that can be used as a source of good in the world will require us to address some of the technology’s shortcomings. Thankfully, addressing these concerns only requires us to take a careful, measured approach to using AI. In doing so, we pave the way for a future where AI can be used to empower human workers to improve their efficiency.

Ed Watal is the founder and principal of Intellibus, an INC 5000 Top 100 Software firm based in Reston, Virginia. He regularly serves as a board advisor to the world’s largest financial institutions. C-level executives rely on him for IT strategy & architecture due to his business acumen & deep IT knowledge. One of Ed's key projects includes BigParser (an Ethical AI Platform and an A Data Commons for the World).  He has also built and sold several Tech & AI startups. Ed has substantial teaching experience and has served as a lecturer for universities globally, including NYU and Stanford. Ed has been featured on Fox News, Information Week, and NewsNation.