Kevin Werbach

AI and related technologies are transforming the business landscape in virtually every industry. But in addition to offering enormous new opportunities for growth and innovation, these technologies can also produce abuses of privacy, unethical manipulation and new forms of discrimination. In turn, such challenges have resulted in more political scrutiny and regulation of the firms that develop and employ these emerging technologies or utilize the data of millions of consumers. These actions create potential pitfalls ranging from public backlash to extensive fines and even outright bans. Organizations seeking to benefit from big data and analytics must consider their limitations, as well as the emerging legal and technical mechanisms of algorithmic accountability. In this presentation, Kevin Werbach draws on his Wharton course, “Big Data, Big Responsibilities,” to outline the legal and ethical challenges posed by AI and the data economy, and discuss how organizations can benefit from these technologies while respecting their consumers’ privacy and autonomy.