Ethical & Human Centered AI

AI technologies have the potential to benefit the Wikimedia Movement, but they come with risks. The Wikimedia Foundation has begun to build AI products around these technologies. The emerging domain of ethical AI proposes new approaches for addressing the discrimination, disruption, and damage that AI can cause. The established discipline of human centered design provides guidance on how to maintain a focus on human needs and wellbeing throughout product development.

This white paper is intended to help Wikimedia ensure ethical and human-centered outcomes in AI product development given our current and anticipated goals, needs, capacities, and workflows. The paper makes two contributions: 1) it motivates a set of risk scenarios intended to define the problem space and promote reflective decision-making, and 2) it presents a set of process proposals for improving AI product development. Taken together, these scenarios and proposals can help Wikimedia address anticipated challenges and identify emerging opportunities to leverage AI technologies to further our mission.