Advancements in emerging technology present, all at once, a great unknown and incredible opportunities. Because of the complex nature of new developments in emerging technology, many times people have a hard time understanding the possible negative outcomes as well as the many opportunities and benefits they offer. It is critical that advocacy groups do their due diligence in understanding and analyzing new developments in emerging technology, as well as advocate strongly for regulation that ensures the protection of everyone living in the United States.

If we take Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an example, this new development has both the potential for great benefit to society and the world as well as the possibility of negatively impacting privacy. It is true that AI has the ability to facilitate great strides forward in finance, health care, and law enforcement. In finance, AI can allow for smarter transacting in securities and help investors quickly respond to market trends. In health care, AI can be used to help sort through droves of data to help doctors analyze infection rates and gain valuable new insight into diseases. In law enforcement, AI can analyze terabytes of security footage and notify analysts of abnormalities making it easier to catch criminals.

Let’s take a moment to analyze that last example, specifically as it relates to civil liberties. In applying AI to law enforcement there are several concerning factors that must be regulated. For example:

• Who is ensuring these systems are being deployed in a fair and unbiased way?
• Who is ensuring the targeting algorithms do not unfairly target disadvantaged communities?

These questions and many others must be asked and directed toward policy-makers as AI evolves. ALLvanza continually stays at the forefront of this developing industry to analyze and provide insight, with the help of our Agile Advisory Team(s), in helping corporate and government decision-makers understand the moral and ethical issues associated with AI and particularly the impact on disadvantaged communities.

Due to the virtually limitless applications of AI though, there are virtually limitless benefits. The many applications of AI within every industry from manufacturing to defense mean that there will be a need for people to fill jobs in these industries and that represents a major opportunity for people from disadvantaged communities to fill those jobs, assuming they are prepared and qualified. But in order to be prepared and qualified to fill the jobs created by emerging technologies, AI being one example but also within cybersecurity, 5G deployment, and edge computing, a strong educational foundation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is needed.

A very important part of ALLvanza’s mission is addressing both ends of the spectrum within emerging technologies. On the one hand, leveraging our Agile Advisory Team(s) and our own analysis and insight, we work to inform policy makers about the possible moral and ethical issues that come along with developments in cutting edge emerging technologies. We advocate for lawmakers and other decision makers to consider all aspects of emerging technology and especially the potential impacts on disadvantaged communities. Conversely, we work directly with students, parents, teachers and administrators to help everyone understand the importance of STEM education and preparing students to become a pipeline of qualified talent in technology-related fields.