As Microsoft rolls out its Responsible AI Standard framework to the public, it is most encouraging to note that they will phase out facial recognition technology that’s designed to identify a person’s age, gender, emotional state, and other characteristics. The company acknowledged that this AI technology has the potential to discriminate, perpetuate stereotypes, and the possibility of denying services to people”.
Hopefully Microsoft’s decision will inspire others – both developers and buyers – to also walk away.
Microsoft chief responsible AI officer Natasha Crampton acknowledged the potential of AI programs to “exacerbate societal biases and inequities,” calling these some of the “most widely recognized harms associated with these systems.”