IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2021 - 55

To Be fAIr or Not to Be:
Using AI for the Good of
Citizens
Ulises Cortés

Abraham Sánchez

Barcelona Supercomputing Center,
08034 Barcelona, Spain
Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya,
08034 Barcelona, Spain

Gobierno de Jalisco, PC 44100, Guadalajara,
Mexico

Atia Cortés

E. Ulises Moya-Sánchez

Barcelona Supercomputing Center,
08034 Barcelona, Spain

Gobierno de Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara,
Zapopan 45129, Mexico

Cristian Barrué

Dario Garcia-Gasulla

Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya,
08034 Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona Supercomputing Center,
08034 Barcelona, Spain

 In the last decade, there has been an explosion in the progress and applications of artificial
intelligence (AI) in our society. For the first time, the
applications of AI have left the laboratory to reach
society in a broad, visible, and relevant way. This fact
has raised numerous questions about the potential of
AI in the future and its implications in our lives. The
benefits of AI do not come alone; they also bring with
them responsibilities that if not considered properly
can become misuses, intentional or not.
AI and analytics have predominated in recent
years, spurred on by organizations increasingly using
data-driven analytics and cloud computing to gain a
competitive edge. Although AI originated in the public sector-security and military sectors remaining at
the forefront-our governments and their administrations have struggled to embrace the digital transformation to the same extent as private enterprise.
In Europe [1], [2], the United Kingdom [3], and the
United States [4], [5], public administrations started
to think about the possible impacts of AI-based technologies in the citizens' daily life. For example, the

EU has a concern about the AI-based algorithms that
may be or are being used by public administrations,
as potential problems can arise through low-quality
data and, hence, impact on the principle of proper
administration as established in EU law [1].
AI, and, in particular, machine learning (ML) applications promise a smarter, more automated future
for everyone. But the algorithms that underpin these
technologies are at risk of bias, a substantial threat that
could undermine their entire purpose. Today, the data
generated by the Internet and the algorithms based on
AI that discriminate and organize them for our consumption are a binomial of control and domination
that the technique imposes on humanity [6]. Citizens
produce vast quantities of data, not all of which can
or should be kept, and decisions about what has longterm value and should be shared and preserved will
differ between domains. The moral value of privacy in
cyberspace cannot, and should not, be ignored [7],
and it has to be protected by our governments.
Technology, in particular that is based on AI, exerts
a cultural hegemony on us. As today, almost all our
individual and social activity depends on its developments and applications. From online services like
Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, TikTok, and Twitter, to
chatbots on our smartphones and in our homes with

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2021.3056173
Date of current version: 16 March 2021.

March 2021

0278-0097/21©2021 IEEE

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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2021

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