G8: AI and OEHS Ethics

Nancy Orr, CIH, CSP Moderator
Sage Health and Safety, LLC
New York, NY 
 
Alan Leibowitz, CIH, CSP Presenter
EHS Systems Solutions, LLC
Bonita Springs, FL 
United States of America
 
Robert Agnew, Ph.D., CIH, CSP Co-Presenter
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 
United States of America
 
Josh Leibowitz Co-Presenter
Open Austin
Austin, TX 
United States of America
 
Tue, 5/21: 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM EDT
Education Session 
Greater Columbus Convention Center 
Room: A 125 
CM Credit Hours:

Description

OEHS professionals are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their professional practice. While these tools can improve productivity their use is not without risk. Care must be taken to validate the information provided and to ensure that data is collected and used in an ethical manner. This presentation will address some key ethical considerations in OEHS use of AI including but not limited to: a) data privacy; b) bias and fairness; c) accountability and transparency; d) equipment use; e) human supervision; f) decision making; and g) human vs AI authored content. AI models are trained on massive datasets generated by scraping various sources which are used in iterative cycles of model improvement. The AI can then predict which word follows the next in any given sentence. At the current state of AI evolution, this provides the ability to write plausible-sounding statements that are often surprisingly accurate. Even with optimized prompts, responses cannot be accepted at face value. AI systems do not inherently possess knowledge or facts in the way humans understand them. AI is optimized to provide the response based on its training data, not the most correct one. Unwarranted user confidence in the output they receive has already had real-world consequences. Lawsuits have been filed relating to allegedly fabricated results and it would be easy to imagine the consequences of trusting AI to create an emergency response plan without appropriate technical review.

This session will fulfill the CIH ethics requirements for certification and recertification.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion, the participant will be able to:

• Discuss the ethical concerns of AI use in OEHS.
• Determine how to mitigate the risks of AI use.
• Utilize real-world examples of the value and potential dangers of AI use. 

Content Level

Intermediate

Interactive Session Experience

Polling
Q&A

Organizational Category

Corporation/Company

Primary Industry

All Industries

Topics

Also part of the Virtual Program
Available as part of AIHA CONNECT OnDemand
Big Data
Ethics
Risk Assessment and Management