World News | When governments use artificial intelligence to predict what people want

Madrid, March 27 (360info) Governments can and do use artificial intelligence to guide their citizens and policies. But are we ready for how far it can go?

Governments have access to vast amounts of data, and they can—and often do—use artificial intelligence (AI) strategies to analyze and predict the behavior of their citizens.

Read also | Cryptocurrencies: Black, Hispanic investors struggle with faith in cryptocurrencies

However, while AI can help policymakers by providing highly accurate forecasts, identifying trends and patterns, predicting complex correlations, and improving profitability, it can also pose risks to the privacy and security of citizens and threaten the integrity of society. free decision.

Researchers from three Spanish universities explored these risks in a study that surveyed government officials about their institutions’ use of artificial intelligence. One councilor said that during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, artificial intelligence helped his town predict outcomes to help make better decisions.

Read also | Afghanistan earthquake: 4.2-magnitude quake hits near Farhal district of Takhar province.

“The use of artificial intelligence to predict possible infections and deaths has been used with statistical models. These models have helped us improve healthcare and improve the movement of people in cities when lockdowns are required,” the lawmaker said.

However, the same official also noted: “The use of apps to track the location of users’ devices, while always anonymous, highlights the need to regulate the use of artificial intelligence technology and other similar technologies.”

Another Spanish politician interviewed said: “We use artificial intelligence to predict possible crimes in cities. When artificial intelligence and our analysis tell us that serious crimes such as murder are likely to occur in a certain neighborhood, we increase The number of police patrols in these neighborhoods.”

The recent exponential growth in the use of artificial intelligence has led to the emergence of the new field of behavioral data science, which combines techniques from behavioral science, psychology, sociology, economics, and business, and uses computer science, data-centric Process modeling of engineering, statistics, information science, and/or mathematics to understand and predict human behavior using AI.

As the first congressman pointed out, while this predictive power can be harnessed to better design and implement policies, privacy concerns are growing.

As more data becomes available from citizens, predictions may soon reach similar levels of validity as observations, raising concerns about state surveillance. Governments in possession of this intelligence risk invading privacy and hindering society’s free decision-making.

Illegal use of such technologies can be used to change the behavior of citizens, including influencing election outcomes. For example, data on the behavior of Facebook users in the US was analyzed using behavioral prediction algorithms developed by Cambridge Analytica and used to revise the results of the 2016 election between US Presidents Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Many questions still surround the risks to citizens’ privacy posed by government use of artificial intelligence and behavioral data science. These include: the ethics of collecting and analyzing data that citizens do not intend to generate; how the government’s output from such data analysis should be explained to citizens; and whether (and in what ways) such analysis violates people’s privacy.

Governments can better achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of building effective, accountable and responsive institutions if they use AI to improve services to citizens and society, and adopt ethical principles and values ​​to ensure citizens’ privacy.

Solutions could include enacting legislation related to AI and behavioral data science to limit potentially unethical uses and avoid illicit or unlawful uses of the technology. Effective government practices and policies will help citizens have greater trust in artificial intelligence, behavioral data science, and large-scale analysis of collective behavior and intelligence.

In today’s global culture, where the Internet is the primary communication tool, data and decision-making based on behavioral analysis have become essential for public actors, but because legislation is often one step behind technology, many societies are currently wary of this inevitable Inadequate preparation for the future. (360info.org)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)