Kevin McKee (DeepMind): How does AI influence the core of being human?
Jul 5, 2023
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Kevin McKee, Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, discusses AI fairness, AI's impact on the LGBT+ community, and the balance between developing trustworthy AI and anthropomorphization of technology. They emphasize the importance of aligning AI systems with human values, building trust, and creating inclusive AI tools.
Community involvement is crucial for the development of AI systems that can address the needs and concerns of different communities.
Ensuring fairness in AI algorithms is essential, and the 'Veil of Ignorance' project shows that decision-making behind a lack of personal knowledge prioritizes fairness and helping the worst off.
Deep dives
The Importance of Community Engagement in AI Development
In this episode, guest speaker Kevin McKee from Google DeepMind emphasizes the significance of community involvement in the development of AI systems. He highlights the importance of approaching communities to understand their needs and concerns before embarking on AI projects. He discusses a participatory project aimed at gathering perspectives from the LGBTQ+ community regarding their needs in mental health AI. By including communities in the development process, AI systems can be better tailored to their values and ensure that their voices are heard.
Addressing Bias and Discrimination in AI Systems
Kevin McKee discusses the potential risks of AI systems reinforcing existing biases and discrimination. He emphasizes the importance of ensuring fairness in AI algorithms and presents a research project called the 'Veil of Ignorance.' This project explores how AI systems can be aligned with human values by putting individuals behind a veil of ignorance, making decisions without knowledge of their personal benefit. The research findings reveal that people are more likely to prioritize fairness and helping the worst off when making value-based decisions behind the Veil of Ignorance.
Trustworthiness and Human AI Interaction
The conversation explores the key role of trustworthiness in human AI interaction. Kevin McKee discusses the importance of perceived warmth and competence in AI systems. While optimizing objective metrics is crucial, he highlights that building trust with users is equally important. Trust in AI systems needs to be earned rather than simply assumed. The discussion emphasizes the need for AI developers to prioritize building trust through understanding and meeting the needs of the communities they serve.
Creating Inclusive AI Systems for Vulnerable Communities
Kevin McKee's work also focuses on creating inclusive AI systems for vulnerable communities, such as the LGBTQ+ community. He highlights the risks of bias and discrimination in AI systems and the need for oversight to mitigate these effects. The conversation delves into the challenges of using AI in the hiring process and the potential benefits and risks associated with relying on AI for making fair hiring decisions. The discussion concludes with a call to ensure that AI development benefits those who have historically been marginalized or left out.
Tune in to this week’s episode of In AI We Trust?, where Kevin McKee, Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, discusses issues of AI fairness, AI’s impact on the LGBT+ community, and the balance between developing AI that humans can trust and the anthropomorphization of technology. Kevin leads research projects focused on machine learning, social psychology, and sociotechnical systems and has worked on algorithmic development and evaluation, environment design, and data analysis.