IBM is a company committed to the responsible stewardship of data and technology – at all times and in all circumstances, including today’s global pandemic. Our Principles of Trust and Transparency reflect the longstanding values that have guided generations of IBMers in the development and deployment of new technologies and services to deliver innovation that matters to the world.

 

Since the beginning of this emergency, IBM has been working with clients and governments to apply our technology and expertise in ways that can make a meaningful difference. From minimizing disruption through resiliency and adaptation, to accelerating scientific discovery and rapidly delivering trusted information into the hands of citizens, we are laser-focused on modeling the promise of good tech when society needs it most.

 

After all, our principles are only as good as our willingness to put them into practice.

 

Infusing Ethical Thinking to Drive Accountability

 

Long before COVID-19, we knew that leading with our values would be critical for distinguishing IBM as a global leader in trusted good tech business practices. We also recognized that operationalizing those values would require a formal, internal process to vet projects and business opportunities based on well-defined guidance around ethical, privacy, and security considerations. As that guidance becomes increasingly dependent on unique ethical considerations posed by technologies like AI, we established our internal AI Ethics Board and a business-wide network of “focals,” trusted IBM AI experts, to provide a centralized mechanism for reviewing opportunities that pose more difficult questions. The Board is comprised of a cross-disciplinary team of IBMers, co-chaired by me, and reports to a committee of IBM senior leaders.

 

The AI Ethics Board infuses our principles and ethical thinking into our business decision-making. It provides centralized governance and accountability while still being flexible enough to support decentralized initiatives across IBM’s massive global reach. It provides two-way engagement, promotes best practices, conducts internal education, and leads our participation with stakeholder groups worldwide. It is one mechanism by which IBM holds our company and all IBMers accountable to our values.

 

Applying Value-Based Guardrails to Promote Trust in Today’s COVID-19 Response Technologies

 

Importantly, the board does not prejudge every possible situation or business opportunity. Instead, it provides a framework to rapidly evaluate each use case and make decisions guided by our principles and a careful consideration of how our technology will be used and by whom. As the Board has looked at technologies to address the COVID-19 pandemic in recent months that we hadn’t considered previously – such as temperature checking, contact tracing, and technologies to assist in social distancing – I am comforted to have reaffirmed that our long-standing Trust and Transparency principles have indeed provided effective guardrails as today, maybe more than ever, we need to promote trust in technology. Without trust, the public will never embrace technologies that can help address this pandemic.

 

I highlight below six key guardrails, found within our Trust & Transparency Principles, that have been particularly helpful for our board, and the business, to ensure we are responsible stewards of our COVID-19 technologies and engagements worldwide.

 

Maintaining Adaptability to Promote Public Health while Protecting Privacy

 

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, the questions around how to best promote public health while protecting privacy will need to be continuously re-assessed, just as the science of the disease spread and its control is increasing and evolving.

 

IBM believes strongly in the value of opt-in measures to protect privacy and ensure trust. We believe governments and enterprises should strive to prioritize the voluntary nature of any collection and use of personal data in public health efforts. Where mandatory contact tracing systems are proposed, any IBM involvement in those projects would be carefully evaluated by the AI Ethics Board, on a case-by-case basis, to ensure consistency with our overarching principles and values. For example, requiring the use of a contact tracing app in the workplace before permitting employees to return could help provide returning employees with a healthy and safe workplace while preserving privacy, provided it’s designed and deployed with the right guardrails in place. Adaptability is key to working our way through this unprecedented emergency, and the flexibility afforded by the Board’s governance mechanism will allow IBM to continue responding in a timely and effective manner to changes on the ground.

 

Looking ahead to other possible technology applications that may be required to beat back this virus, preserving society’s trust in technology is critical. The world can count on IBM, guided by our AI Ethics Board, to continue bringing the best of our technology and expertise into the fight. And we will do so while adhering firmly to our long-standing principles and belief in the importance of good tech that have earned us the trust of society and our clients for more than a century.

 

 

Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy Officer, IBM Corporation

 

 

 

Share this post: