Deloitte report emphasizes gap between Generative AI adoptation and ethical standards

Deloitte’s new report reveals that while many companies are beginning to use Generative AI, more than half (56%) of them are unsure if their organizations have ethical standards guiding its use.

This new research is Deloitte’s second annual report on the “State of Ethics and Trust in Technology” and surveyed more than 1,700 business and technical professionals across industry sectors with startling conclusions.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of the people surveyed said that their companies have begun testing Generative AI; 65% said that they are using it inside their businesses, and 31% have already begun using it for external consumption.

Almost half (48%) of respondents said that their organization has ethical principles defined for AI, and 11% of respondents stated that their organization has specific ethical principles for other emerging technologies, such as digital AI.

However, their report also revealed several misgivings. For example, data privacy was ranked as the top ethical concern (22%) about Generative AI. Additionally, while the perception of cognitive technologies’ potential for social good is increasing, the perception of its potential is rising even higher and faster. Furthermore, collaboration with other businesses on ethical technology standards remain unchanged, while expectations of government increase.71% of people who believe that the government should have a greater role in setting ethical standards, a 10% jump from last year.

Deloitte’s report had 5 key takeaways to consider:

1. Organizations should develop trustworthy and ethical principles for emerging technologies, as reinforced by the rapid impacts of Generative AI in the past year.
2. Organizations should design and apply tailored ethical principles specific to each of their technological products.
3. Organizations should proactively embed trustworthy and ethical principles as part of a team-based collaborative development process for emerging technologies.
4. Organizations should actively seek to collaborate with other businesses, government
   agencies, and industry leaders to create uniform, ethically robust regulations for emerging technologies.
5. Organizations who design and earnestly adopt trustworthy and ethical principles should benefit from mitigating reputational and financial damage and reinforcing trust in employees and stakeholders.

Read Deloitte’s report for more details.