Indian Tech Giants Establish AI Ethics Boards Amid Rapid AI Adoption

AI ethics boards coming up fast in Indian tech majors

Technology majors are setting up internal panels to oversee the development of responsible artificial intelligence systems, as emergence of generative AI models raises fresh concerns about data privacy, sovereignty, bias, hallucinations, etc. IBM, Wipro and Automatic Data Processing (ADP) are among companies that have constituted such bodies. IBM's AI Ethics Board is co-chaired by Francesca Rossi, an IBM fellow and AI ethics global leader, along with Christina Montgomery, the company's chief privacy and trust officer. It is a central, cross-disciplinary body that supports governance, review and decision-making processes at IBM, the company said. Wipro has a Responsible AI taskforce spearheaded by global chief privacy & AI governance officer Ivana Bartoletti that reviews all AI projects based on their level of risk. ADP, which holds sensitive customer data like payroll, said its AI & Data Ethics Council convenes regularly to advise on emerging industry trends and concerns. As AI takes the centre stage, more companies will set up such boards that will play a critical role cutting across functions such as product, finance, sales and HR. According to a survey conducted by research firm Gartner in May, nearly 68% of business leaders are still investigating or determining governance for GenAI uses within their organisations. In India, this percentage was 58%. Data protection and privacy (52%), lack of mature GenAI vendors (52%), and data accuracy, reliability and transparency (48%) are among Indian respondents' most commonly cited GenAI implementation challenges, the study showed. Enterprise buyers in India are looking to purchase from credible vendors whose GenAI-enabled solutions comply with India's legal and sector-specific regulations, said Anushree Verma, director analyst, emerging technologies and trends, at Gartner. "An AI ethics council is very critical for the success of the AI projects in the longer term which require leaders to address strategies and methods related to fairness, transparency, explainability, reliability, privacy and security," Verma said. Its tasks can cover people (for example, a chief AI officer) and processes to support AI, managing AI's societal and ethical enterprise risks, AI explainability, AI data and privacy and protection, ModelOps (life cycle management, analytics), adversarial attack resistance, etc., she explained. For Wipro, its AI governance strategy cuts across functional teams such as legal (contractual clauses, IP risk assessment), cybersecurity and quality assurance, Bartoletti said. IBM, which is among the first global companies to constitute an ethics board for AI, recently published a paper on risks associated with training GenAI models. "In addition, the CPO AI Ethics Project Office supports all these initiatives, serving as a liaison between governance roles, supporting implementation of technology ethics priorities, helping establish AI Ethics Board agendas and ensuring the board is kept up to date on industry trends and company strategy," a company spokesperson said. According to ADP, with rapid advancements in AI, ethics and transparency shall be key differentiators for the company to maintain customer trust. "Comprised of both industry leaders and ADP experts across our business, ADP's AI & Data Ethnics Council plays a crucial role in guiding the company," said Srinivas Konidena, chief technology officer and VP of APAC products at ADP. "The council convenes regularly to advise on emerging industry trends and concerns. It also provides guidance on the principles we should adhere to when developing AI and data-related products, systems, and applications," he added.

AI ethics boards coming up fast in Indian tech majors

Leading tech majors are building internal review boards to ensure the ethical development of AI systems, in response to the growing concerns around data privacy, sovereignty, bias, and hallucinations posed by the emergence of generative AI models.Technology majors are setting up internal panels to oversee the development of responsible artificial intelligence systems, as emergence of generative AI models raises fresh concerns about data privacy, sovereignty, bias, hallucinations, etc. IBM, Wipro and Automatic Data Processing (ADP) are among companies that have constituted such bodies. IBM's AI Ethics Board is co-chaired by Francesca Rossi, an IBM fellow and AI ethics global leader, along with Christina Montgomery, the company's chief privacy and trust officer. It is a central, cross-disciplinary body that supports governance, review and decision-making processes at IBM, the company said. Wipro has a Responsible AI taskforce spearheaded by global chief privacy & AI governance officer Ivana Bartoletti that reviews all AI projects based on their level of risk. ADP, which holds sensitive customer data like payroll, said its AI & Data Ethics Council convenes regularly to advise on emerging industry trends and concerns. As AI takes the centre stage, more companies will set up such boards that will play a critical role cutting across functions such as product, finance, sales and HR. According to a survey conducted by research firm Gartner in May, nearly 68% of business leaders are still investigating or determining governance for GenAI uses within their organisations. In India, this percentage was 58%. Data protection and privacy (52%), lack of mature GenAI vendors (52%), and data accuracy, reliability and transparency (48%) are among Indian respondents' most commonly cited GenAI implementation challenges, the study showed. Enterprise buyers in India are looking to purchase from credible vendors whose GenAI-enabled solutions comply with India's legal and sector-specific regulations, said Anushree Verma, director analyst, emerging technologies and trends, at Gartner. "An AI ethics council is very critical for the success of the AI projects in the longer term which require leaders to address strategies and methods related to fairness, transparency, explainability, reliability, privacy and security," Verma said. Its tasks can cover people (for example, a chief AI officer) and processes to support AI, managing AI's societal and ethical enterprise risks, AI explainability, AI data and privacy and protection, ModelOps (life cycle management, analytics), adversarial attack resistance, etc., she explained. For Wipro, its AI governance strategy cuts across functional teams such as legal (contractual clauses, IP risk assessment), cybersecurity and quality assurance, Bartoletti said. IBM, which is among the first global companies to constitute an ethics board for AI, recently published a paper on risks associated with training GenAI models. "In addition, the CPO AI Ethics Project Office supports all these initiatives, serving as a liaison between governance roles, supporting implementation of technology ethics priorities, helping establish AI Ethics Board agendas and ensuring the board is kept up to date on industry trends and company strategy," a company spokesperson said. According to ADP, with rapid advancements in AI, ethics and transparency shall be key differentiators for the company to maintain customer trust. "Comprised of both industry leaders and ADP experts across our business, ADP's AI & Data Ethnics Council plays a crucial role in guiding the company," said Srinivas Konidena, chief technology officer and VP of APAC products at ADP. "The council convenes regularly to advise on emerging industry trends and concerns. It also provides guidance on the principles we should adhere to when developing AI and data-related products, systems, and applications," he added.