IBM Corp is developing Artificial Intelligence tools which will ensure that online advertising algorithms do not unfairly display ads to only specific groups and should be more inclusive, in a bid to address discrimination.
The company told Reuters that a team of 14 will research “fairness” in ads over the next six months, exploring ways to spot and mitigate the unintended bias, including in audiences and the messages themselves.
Academic research suggests that some audiences are excluded from seeing job, housing and other ads because of potentially unlawful choices made by advertisers or the automated systems which they use.
“The foundation of advertising is crumbling and we have to rebuild the house,” IBM Senior Vice President Bob Lord said. “While we’re at it, let’s ensure fairness is in the blueprint.”
IBM is researching whether artificial intelligence can spot the bias in ads where only a limited number of number of people, or only people in big cities and of a certain demographic are shown these ads, and help to redirect more evenly.
IBM seeks next to analyse data from the non-profit Ad Council’s public service announcements about COVID-19 vaccines.
“Systemic bias is unfortunately baked into nearly every corner of the advertising industry”, said Lisa Sherman, the council’s president and chief executive. “We hope this research and undertaking will help validate the steps we take to mitigate unintended bias and identify areas for us and others to continue refining.”