Blog - Oldfield Consultancy

Dr. Oldfield on AI Ethics: Key Benchmarks Discussed on Heavybit Podcast

February 28, 2023

Introduction Dr. Oldfield recently appeared on the Heavybit Podcast to discuss a topic of growing importance: the ethical benchmarks of AI. As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into our lives, questions around data integrity, algorithmic bias, and accountability are more critical than ever. This blog post explores the key insights from that exclusive podcast, shedding light on the frameworks needed to build and manage trustworthy AI systems for a better future. What is AI Ethics? AI Ethics refers to a set of moral principles and values that guide the design, development, and use of artificial intelligence. It’s about ensuring that AI systems are fair, transparent, and accountable to humans. Dr. Oldfield emphasized that while AI offers immense potential, its benefits must be weighed against its potential risks, particularly in areas like data privacy and automated decision-making. The goal is to create AI that serves humanity without causing unintended harm. The Need for Ethical Benchmarks Establishing ethical benchmarks for AI is crucial for a number of reasons. Without clear standards, AI models can inherit biases from their training data, leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes. On the Heavybit Podcast, Dr. Oldfield explained that these benchmarks act as a blueprint, providing developers

Dr Oldfield speaks at REAIMS Summit (supported by Netherlands Foreign Ministry) on AI and Ethics as well as Gender Equity in Defence

February 1, 2023

Dr Oldfield said “It is critical to get the right people around the table and assume diverse representation. Therefore this opportunity to discuss gender equity is welcome. In addition the discussion of AI and Ethics is moving in a positive direction in defence, keeping this discussion moving is extremely important for future progress”. Click for link to event

Dr Marie Oldfield, Director, Speaks at Chatham House Panel

August 2, 2022

“I was pleased to be invited to a prestigious panel at Chatham House to discuss the application and misapplication of artificial intelligence. Given my recent papers on the increasing number of ethical issues and legal cases being brought against AI that has not been developed correctly and has subsequently been withdrawn after causing serious harm I felt that this was a very timely discussion. During the panel we discussed data, AI implementation, testing and how practitioners can work towards developing more ethical AI”. This topic is explored in my current suite of publications available on researchgate

Condition Based Monitoring and AI Implementation on Complex Platforms

August 1, 2022

Read the published paper here Condition Based Monitoring (CBM) can be used on platforms from Wind Turbines to Submarines. Recently there has been much interest in the academic community towards using AI to monitor systems. In journals there are many technical articles discussing potential ways forward but with the emphasis on simple systems. As we move towards potential technological developments that would lead to AI becoming integrated into CBM it is pertinent to examine where integrating AI into complex systems has been a success or a failure. Implementation of AI systems in industry has seen mixed results. From success in the wind industry to failure in aerospace. The complexity of the platforms becomes a significant issue when intertwined with AI. AI having significant control over the platform or systems and the natural feel of the platform removed from the human operator can cause unintended and fatal consequences, as in the Boeing Air Max Disasters, where the AI was operating independently of the Pilot. This lack of interface between the AI and the Pilot, or the ability to switch off the autopilot highlighted the critical need to human-computer interfacing. Given the complexity of systems, it is more important than ever to

AI and Education

August 1, 2022

Read the published paper here As of 2020 there is still no subject benchmark statement for Artificial Intelligence or modelling. What does this mean? All subjects have a benchmark statement. This tells the educational institution what needs to be taught and when and describes the building blocks for progression in the subject. This statement also describes assessments that need to take place in order to assure the workplace that the candidate is indeed qualified in the area of the statement. These statements are quite prescriptive, but it seems not updated, very often. New statements seem to be quite behind in being created. The education industry has not caught up to the fact that data science and artificial intelligence are growing areas. This is problematic as they have been tagged on as subjects to existing degrees. This causes issues in the area of ethic and modelling where processes that may not even have been taught in the previous statements on statistics or mathematics are now critical to subjects such as data science and artificial intelligence. The education on these topics is no longer purely academic is has an inherent outward focus on users and operators of this technology, Therefore the teaching

Dr Marie Oldfield published in InfoSec Magazine

July 22, 2022

How Humans Can Positively Interact with Technology? Read the article here As Technology becomes more intertwined with the fabric of our daily lives and she parents schedule Alexa to read bedtime stories to their children, Marie asks, what does healthy interaction with technology look like? This involved understanding and maintaining freedoms that come with being inherently human and questioning what tasks are mundane and what are exciting. Is it exciting to watch your child grow and ask questions and for you to be the person that can provide explanation to a growing young adult, or is this a mundane task better suited to an Alexa? Would you leave your child alone with the Alexa reading a story, and if so, what if the story is hijacked and full of material you would never wish your child to hear? How much do you trust Technology? Healthy interaction involves the same approach as we take to work, shutting the door on it and having some quality time with our loved ones and family. Don’t take your tech to the restaurant, turn it off in an evening, enjoy the basic, fundamental human comforts that interaction has to offer.

Dr Marie Oldfield published in Business Cloud

July 22, 2022

Black Mirror is already here. Should we be afraid? Read the article here At a recent panel Marie discussed dehumanisation and how people can start to devalue both others and themselves through excessive technology use. We might think Black Mirror is a dramatic TV programme but this and other such as Person of Interest and Humans are all reflections of what is currently happening in our society. As we give up control to technology and become more controlled by it we begin to lose essential freedoms that make us human. We need to ask ourselves one question, what kind of future society do we want to live in?

Published Research with Scoliosis SOS at SOSORT 2022

May 10, 2022

Our extensive clinical and statistical work with Scoliosis SOS has resulted in 4 papers being presented at the 2022 SOSORT Conference in San Sebastian. We are very proud to work with Scoliosis SOS and to be able to help those with Scoliosis have an improved quality of life. The papers are as follows: “The relationship between the Angle of Trunk Rotation and Forced Vital Capacity in patients with Idiopathic Scoliosis after a Four-Week Intensive Physiotherapy Scoliosis Specific Exercise Programme, an update on the SOSORT Award Winner, 2017” “Exploring the effectiveness of an intensive treatment of Physiotherapy Scoliosis Specific Exercise (PSSE) on improving Pelvic Obliquity (PO) in patients with Idiopathic Scoliosis (IS)” “Exploring the effectiveness of online Physiotherapy Scoliosis Specific Exercise (PSSE) in improving health related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with Idiopathic Scoliosis (IS): A comparison between online and face-to-face (F2F) treatment” “Exploring the effectiveness of an intensive treatment of Physiotherapy Scoliosis Specific Exercise (PSSE) on improving Thoracic Apical Spine Deviation in patients with Idiopathic Scoliosis (IS) using a Formetric Scanner” Click this link to read.

Transhumanism

October 13, 2021

By Milo Thomas Transhumanism The Transhumanist movement involves advocacy of progressive ideology towards the efforts of human ‘enhancement’ via technological or scientific means. A member or supporter of the movement, a ‘Transhumanist’, adopts a futurist-optimist stance on technological development. Transhumanists generally consider the enhancement ideology as part of human evolution and our developing symbiotic relationship with technology.The Extropian Principles were the precursing concepts to Transhumanism during the 1980s, acting as an evolving framework of values, representing the continuous improvement of humanity. Endless eXtension, Transcending Restrictions, Overcoming Property, Intelligence and Smart Machines was the EXTROPISM anagram.In 2006, the Extropist Institute and the World Transhumanist Association (WTA) merged and rebranded to form the current international leading organisation of Transhumanim, Humanity+. This organisation has released a manifesto, along with a number of Transhumanist declarations which can be found on their website.Some individuals argue that Transhumanism emerged during the late 1800s, where the infamous literature of Friedrich Nietzsche described the concept of the superhuman. This ideology was also infamously recognised and adopted as part of the agenda of the far-right in 1940s Germany. Due to concepts and affiliations such as these, naturally the Transhumanist ideology is scrutinised ethically for their advocacy of biological alterations. Transumanist

Technological Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence.

September 1, 2021

Technological Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence. By Miki Okilo More often than not, the greatest start up ideas do not make it to the commercialization stage and very few start ups are actually successful enough to lead industries. Now this is a rather strange problem considering the fact that technological gaps around the world are closing as a result of globalization and easier access to resources. A recent study showed that the greatest innovations are technologies that went beyond laboratory inventions to products that actually solved a need and were a right fit for the market. This has informed most entrepreneurs on the need to pay as much attention to market needs as they pay to their inventions. Market research and functional analysis of products could be more accurately carried out when Artificial Intelligence is applied. A strong area of application is in the process and management of large unstructured customer datasets. In the past when there was little or no progress in this field, market research for product fit could take up months or even years to complete. It often led to misleading assumptions about the market that turned out to be counterproductive. Currently, AI offers an opportunity to