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Writer's pictureLaRaie Zimm

Making AI Work for Us: Best Practices


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AI is no longer a thing of the future - it's here now, and it's becoming smarter and more accessible to everyone. But with the increasing presence of AI, it's important to know how to work with it so it works for us. Businesses, organizations, and individuals alike can use it to their advantage and improve their everyday lives. For example, AI can be used to streamline tedious tasks or analyze large amounts of data, thus freeing up more time for humans to focus on higher-value tasks that require more complex problem-solving and creative thinking.

We don't have to worry about sacrificing the human touch in business and technology - instead, we can use it to supplement and enhance our work.

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In order to make AI work for us properly, however, there are fundamental training practices that should be considered. For example, how can we be sure that AI remains unbiased?


AI can be biased if it is trained on biased data or designed with biased algorithms. There are a few factors that can lead to this, such as unbalanced or incomplete training data, implicit human biases, biased algorithms, and reinforcing feedback loops. Unbalanced or incomplete training data can lead to an AI system being unrepresentative of the real world and may cause certain groups of people to be underrepresented. Implicit human biases of those who develop and train the AI system can be reflected in its outputs. If the algorithms used to develop the AI system incorporate biased assumptions or decision rules, it can also lead to bias. Lastly, if the outputs of an AI system are used to make decisions that reinforce existing biases, the biases can become more deeply ingrained over time.


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To avoid bias in AI, it is essential to develop diverse and representative training data. This requires collecting data from a range of sources and populations and ensuring that it is free of any inherent biases. Examples for best practices to avoid bias include:

  • Audit AI models for bias: Once an AI model has been developed, it is important to audit it for any biases that may have been inadvertently introduced. This can be done by analyzing the model's outputs and identifying any patterns or disparities that may be the result of bias.

  • Involve diverse teams in AI development: It is important to involve a diverse team of developers, data scientists, and other stakeholders in the development of AI systems. This can help to identify potential biases and ensure that the AI model is designed to be fair and inclusive.

  • Ensure transparency and accountability: AI systems should be designed with transparency and accountability in mind. This means providing clear documentation of how the system works, how it was trained, and what data was used. It also means providing a mechanism for users to provide feedback and report any issues or concerns.

  • Regularly monitor and update AI systems: AI models should be regularly monitored and updated to ensure that they remain unbiased over time. This requires ongoing testing and analysis to identify any new biases that may have been introduced and updating the model accordingly.


Bias in AI is a complex and evolving issue that requires ongoing attention and effort. And it is humans who build the technology that will be an integral part of our educational systems.

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