South African AI Association (SAAIA) has raised concerns over LinkedIn’s use of data to train AI models without consent.
SAAIA seeks to encourage stakeholders to adopt responsible AI for commercial and societal benefit of the citizens of South Africa with a primary focus on economic growth, trade, investment, equality and inclusivity.
It does this by uniting practitioners across commercial, government, academic, start-up and NGO sectors.
“The race to build new AI products and services is a global one but its impacts can also be local. We have been monitoring the breakneck speed of AI innovation as vendors and investors are spending huge sums of money to bring these new offerings to market, and while doing so, we are assessing if this is being done in a responsible manner. ” Dr Nick Bradshaw, the founder of SAAIA, said.
”To this end, we feel it’s important that individuals and nation states must not be disadvantaged in both the short and long term, especially when it comes to how our personal data is being used to train the next generation of AI powered platforms and applications.”
SAAIA Advisory Board member Nathan-Ross Adams who heads up regulatory affairs, and who was principally involved in drafting this submission stated, “Our letter of complaint to the Information Regulator is focused on LinkedIn’s use of South African users’ personal information to train its generative artificial intelligence (AI) models”
Adams says LinkedIn does not meet the conditions for lawful processing under Chapter 3 of POPIA, and their conduct likely constitutes interference with personal information as outlined in section 73 of POPIA. He adds that given the significant public interest, LinkedIn requires investigation from the Information Regulator.
“This is more than just a legal matter, it’s about protecting the rights of individuals in an age where data is currency. SAAIA’s mission is to ensure that as AI grows more powerful, it also grows more accountable.”
Bradshaw added SAAIA’s mission is to engage society in this debate, be they citizens or governments, AI novices or AI experts.
”No one should be left behind in the race to embrace AI. It is of vital importance that the opportunities presented by AI should have at their heart the principles of Responsible AI and not just benefit a select few. We will await the feedback from the Information Regulator of South Africa on this important matter.”
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