Breaking Barriers: Exploring AI's Impact on Inclusion Across Industries
This insight provides a glimpse into various membership use cases in the realm of AI Inclusion, showcasing innovative applications across different sectors. Released on 09/05/2024, it highlights how organisations leverage artificial intelligence to address critical challenges and advance their respective fields.
Each use case demonstrates the transformative power of AI in tackling complex issues while prioritising privacy, efficiency, and improved outcomes. If you're interested in contributing a use case, please reach out to [email protected].
(SopraSteria) Embracing AI: a step forward for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Problem: Bias, both conscious and unconscious, is a challenge that has plagued human decision-making processes for centuries. Identifying and reducing bias is crucial to fostering diversity and inclusion, and AI is playing a significant role in this endeavour.
Solution: Algorithmic decision-making is only as good as the data sets it’s trained on. It’s crucial to train AI systems on diverse data sets that reflect the diversity of the population it’s meant to serve, to avoid perpetuating skewed or discriminatory outcomes. It’s essential to ensure that the teams developing AI systems are diverse and inclusive. Having a diverse team ensures that the technology is designed with different perspectives, experiences, and cultural backgrounds in mind, improving its fairness and promoting inclusivity.
By harnessing the power of AI, while retaining our human touch we can truly move towards a brighter, more inclusive future for all employees, regardless of their background or identity.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/embracing-ai-a-step-forward-for-diversity-equity-and-inclusion.html
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(EY Foundation) How does AI impact social mobility?
Problem: Across the UK, many young people growing up in poverty are denied the training, knowledge and networks needed to thrive in the workplace. Will AI be a great equaliser, or will it widen the chasm of inequality?
Solution: To leverage AI as a force for good, a tool for empowerment, and a means to close the divide in employability outcomes across the UK. The answer lies not in AI itself, but in how we choose to use it, regulate it, and most importantly, how we choose to share its benefits.
With the UK government’s commitment to creating 2,000 scholarships in AI and data science conversion courses exemplifying the kind of systemic change needed to bridge this digital divide. This investment aims to diversify the AI sector, particularly targeting underrepresented groups in tech, including women, black people, people with disabilities, and those from a low socio-economic background.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/how-does-ai-impact-social-mobility.html
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(techUK) From barriers to bridges: harnessing AI’s transformative role for accessibility.
Problem: There are several barriers to employment that people with disabilities might face in the workplace and people with disabilities are twice as likely to leave their jobs than non-disabled people. These include negative attitudes and discrimination, that might manifest in inaccessible workplaces, recruitment biases or in a lack of understanding or empathy at work.
Solution: Looking across the tech landscape, we can already see the clear potential of AI for accessibility. There are great examples of how this technology can be deployed to support people with disabilities, helping them with both daily and workplace tasks.
Despite the great opportunity, there is still work to be done. A study on the effectiveness of generative AI tools to assist people with various disabilities found that whilst some users saw benefits, they also faced issues around accuracy and ableism – with huge variations across different tasks. An enhanced focus on accessibility is required.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/from-barriers-to-bridges-harnessing-ai-s-transformative-role-for-accessibility.html
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(Aveva) AI can support a more equitable world – if we let it.
Problem: During the pandemic, statistical algorithms were used to determine grades for A-level and GCSE exams in the UK. While the resulting grade distribution appeared fair on the surface, a closer look showed catastrophic individual outcomes. The event raised questions about how algorithms operating at scale work and how they evaluate people’s abilities. How do ai-supported decisions affect the future of the individual?
Solution:
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Good governance: Addressing bias in AI requires oversight, accountability and governance.
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Continuous monitoring and testing: Once the system is in place, constant observation is essential.
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Diversity of teams: it is essential for companies using AI models to build diverse teams with the skillsets to address technical, human and ethical considerations.
We have an unprecedented opportunity to mitigate human biases with algorithms supporting fair and equitable outcomes for everyone, regardless of gender, race or ability.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/artificial-intelligence-can-support-a-more-equitable-world-if-we-let-it.html
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(RTA, Kainos, CAMS, Ghana NLP) Women in Digital Ethics, AI safety, an international women's day celebration.
Problem: Enhancing support systems to cultivate a more diverse talent pool, empowering women in technology. How do we include women-led AI assurance techniques and tools to operationalise AI ethics?
Solution: To achieve this, technology must be created by a workforce (data and teams) that reflects the diversity of the society it serves. Currently, this is not always the case, leading to some products that inadvertently reinforce privilege and biases.
Addressing our own blind spots and implementing iterative feedback loops to gather input from diverse groups in both responsible AI development and workplace inclusion efforts. Fixing organisational processes rather than attempting to fix women, advocating for a cultural shift where processes actively support the involvement of diverse voices at every stage of technology development and usage.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/techuk-s-women-in-digital-ethics-and-ai-safety-an-international-women-s-day-celebration.html
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(Diginomica, Chris Middleton) Diversity in AI – women need strong role models to inspire them, hears techUK.
Problem: Artificial Intelligence (AI) may automate ancient societal biases. With software engineering dominated by white men – often young and relatively privileged males at that – the risk is that this key technology may be designed by teams that fail to reflect all of society.
Solution: There are lots of opportunities for AI-enabled tools in HR and recruitment to improve diversity and inclusion, from improving the candidate experience to helping people with more diverse lists of candidates. But AIs also pose novel risks. Perpetuating bias, exclusion, and even discriminatory job advertising.
We know that, in traditional recruitment, it's useful to have multiple panellists in an interview. So, you could see AI as an additional panellist [rather than as a replacement], with different strengths and weaknesses from humans. The lesson is that humans have flaws, but AI has flaws too. So, by partnering and recognising their relative advantages, you can bring some real strengths to your recruitment process.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://diginomica.com/diversity-ai-women-need-strong-role-models-inspire-them-hears-techuk
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(ve3) The power of inclusive design in product development
Problem: Diversity of inclusiveness in the design could be a make or break for your business. If you are not acknowledging the same from the very beginning for your applications or websites, you could be on the verge of losing a lot of audience in your journey.
Solution:
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Equitable – your product should appeal to the wider audience, including accessibility.
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Adaptability – A key application design appeals to be adaptable to audience preferences, for example read-through options.
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Navigable – The application should be easily navigable.
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Access to wider market – Keep in mind your target audience and keep it open to all.
By incorporating diverse perspectives from inception, we not only enhance user engagement but also foster a more equitable digital experience for all. Read more insights from us or explore our innovative digital solutions.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/the-power-of-inclusive-design-in-product-development.html
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(Viable data) Design for all: how embracing design variations can make your product more inclusive
Problem: Universal design and Inclusive design describe two methodologies that aim to create products that can be accessed and used by people of all backgrounds and abilities. What is the difference?
Solution:
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Universal Design – create products that can be assessed and used by all with the greatest extent possible, without adaptation or specialised design.
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Inclusive Design - To practice inclusive design is to acknowledge and embrace the idea that meeting different user needs can sometimes require multiple variations of a design.
Being inclusive in our designs doesn’t require the creation of a single perfect solution. To achieve inclusivity is to enable different ways for people to equally perceive, understand, navigate and interact with products and services. Sometimes, the best option is multiple options.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/design-for-all-how-embracing-design-variations-can-make-your-product-more-inclusive.html
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(Unosquare) How inclusive design can improve your digital products
Problem: UX design is often taught with little-to-no mention of inclusive design practises.
Solution: Creating websites and apps where users feel like they belong, rather than excluded, is critical for the success of any digital product and therefore businesses. People who use digital products come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have diverse life experiences. These experiences impact the way they interact with the world, including the way they interact with your website and app. Microsoft found that implementing inclusive design principles can lead to a 30% increase in usability for all users, not just those with disabilities.
Practicing inclusive design provides equal access and opportunity that will not go unnoticed by consumers. In fact, 65% of consumers worldwide, say they prefer brands that promote diversity and inclusion and while mindfully avoid those companies who do not.
Interested in reading more? You can do so here: https://www.techuk.org/resource/how-inclusive-design-can-improve-your-digital-products.html
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If you found this case study document on AI Inclusion interesting and want to learn more about techUK’s work in AI Safety, please email [email protected].
Tess Buckley
Tess is the Programme Manager for Digital Ethics and AI Safety at techUK.
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments.
