Responsible AI: Principles for Advancing a More Equitable Innovation Future

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will shape education, labor and the workforce, the economy, civil and human rights, and the environment for decades; and how we design, develop, and deploy AI today will determine who benefits tomorrow. To build a future in which AI benefits society, we must first develop and adopt a set of principles to guide our investments in AI for racial, economic, and environmental justice. Informed by existing research scholarship, frameworks, and definitions advanced by leaders in the field of AI ethics, tech justice, and civil and human rights, the Kapor Foundation has launched its Responsible AI Principles to invest in a just and equitable AI future.

Responsible AI Principles

Utilize a sociotechnical framework to identify challenges and meaningful solutions.

We must clearly define the types of societal problems we aim to solve, evaluate whether AI can and should be deployed as a tool to address these challenges, and consider the broader societal dynamics in which the AI tool is situated.

Incorporate prosocial design principles and continually assess broader societal impacts.

We must employ prosocial and design justice principles by ensuring that solutions are designed with societal benefit at the forefront, the communities most impacted by AI are centered in the design process, regular audits of impact are conducted, and the entire lifecycle of AI development can achieve its intended social good.

Support AI initiatives that shift power.

We must support new and more inclusive business models, compensation/incentive structures, and investment strategies, while building power across researchers, academic institutions, nonprofits/grassroots organizations, and policy advocates to raise concerns and propose solutions to address harms of AI.

Promote critical AI literacy and education across society.

We must expand access to computing education for all students, while advancing critical AI literacies amongst innovators, workers, consumers, and advocates to ensure they are empowered to make decisions about AI’s development, adoption/use, and impact.

Build collective mechanisms for governance and accountability.

We must build the capacity of a broad coalition of journalists, research scholars, whistleblowers, policymakers, and advocacy groups to shape the future of technological innovation through responsible regulation and accountability mechanisms.

This moment will require collective action amongst philanthropy, entrepreneurs, scholars, journalists, organizers, educators, nonprofits, policymakers, and investors to mobilize resources and action towards ensuring a just design, development, and deployment process for future AI innovations, while demanding safeguards to protect communities from harm.