San Francisco, CA, August 25, 2020 – Appen, a global leader in high-quality training data for
machine learning systems, has partnered with the World Economic Forum to design and release
standards and best practices for responsible training data when building machine learning and
artificial intelligence applications. As a World Economic Forum Associate Partner, Appen will
collaborate with industry leaders to release the new standards within the “Shaping the Future
of Technology Governance: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” platform, which
enables a global footprint and guidepost for responsible training data collection and creation
across countries and industries.
The standards and best practices for responsible training data aim to improve quality,
efficiency, transparency, and responsibility for AI projects while promoting inclusivity and
collaboration. The adoption of these standards by the larger technology community will
increase the value of – and trust in – the use of AI by businesses and the general public.
Modern AI applications largely depend on human-annotated data to train machine learning
models that rely on deep learning and neural net technology. Responsible training data
practices include paying fair wages and adhering to labor wellness guidelines and standards.
Appen’s Crowd Code of Ethics, released in 2019, shows our continuous dedication to the wellbeing of its global network of contributors.
“One of the guidelines of responsible AI is always being aware of the source of data and whether it’s ethical and unbiased. Companies that are partnering with training data providers need to be asking questions around how the data is sourced, how those workers are treated, and if the data is coming from a diverse group. This is where it’s critical to work with the right data partner. For example, our Crowd Code of Ethics ensures our commitment to inclusion, diversity, fair pay and communication to our global crowd that works on client data. Partnering with the World Economic Forum to promote these guidelines at the global level will help to inform executive teams and machine learning practitioners to always choose ethically sourced data and improve AI applications for everyone.” – Wilson Pang, CTO at Appen
“Ethical, diverse training data is essential to building a responsible AI system,” said CEO of
Appen, Mark Brayan. “A solid training data platform and management strategy is often the
most critical component of launching a successful, responsible machine learning powered
product into production. We are delighted to share our 20+ years of expertise in this area,
along with our Crowd Code of Ethics, with the World Economic Forum to accelerate standards
and responsible practices across the technology industry.”
A key focus of the partnership will bring together leaders in the AI industry to:
• Contribute to the Human-Centered AI for Human Resources project
• Empower AI leadership with a C-Suite Toolkit and Model AI Governance Framework
“Getting access to large volumes of responsibly-sourced training data has been a longstanding
challenge in the machine learning industry,” said Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of AI and Machine
Learning at the World Economic Forum. “The industry needs to respond with guidelines and
standards for what it means to acquire and use responsible training data, addressing topics
ranging from user permission, privacy, and security to how individuals are compensated for
their work as part of the AI supply chain. We look forward to working with Appen and our
multi-stakeholder community to provide practical guidance for responsible machine learning
development around the world.”
“People need to play their essential part to make AI successful in the real world. The AI system you build is as good or bad as the data you have trained it on. If your data is not representative of diversity of your users or customers, it can lead your AI system to develop bias, make unfair decisions and just not work at all for certain groups. The standards we are putting in place with the World Economic Forum will help set up organizations for success to avoid those pitfalls. C-level executives will be able to lean on the guidelines to confidently deploy AI solutions for real businesses.” – Meeta Dash, VP of Product at Appen
Join industry leaders on October 14th for Appen’s annual Train AI conference providing leaders
with the confidence to launch AI beyond pilot and into production. A curated collection of
topics will teach how to successfully scale AI programs with actionable insights and get to ROI
faster. Kay Firth-Butterfield will be the keynote speaker presenting on the importance of
responsible AI practices and the tools available to leaders to ensure that ethical standards are
being met.