Chinese AI Firm Assures Ethics With Standalone Section in IPO Prospectus
Megvil Technology is seeking a potential $1 billion IPO in Hong Kong to become the first listed artificial intelligence firm and has dedicated a standalone section in its prospectus to assure the market of ethical conduct through various organizational mechanisms including white blowing procedures.
According to the company’s prospectus, Megvil Technology had set up a committee to oversee AI ethics-related issues with a focus on eight core principles which include integrity, human oversight, accountability, diversity and privacy protection. In addition, whistle-blowing procedures have been established for employees to raise concerns about confidentiality.
The seven-year old startup, backed by Alibaba Group and Ant Financial, is the developer of the China's largest cloud-based identify authentication platform, Face++, with about 2.4 million facial verification requests processed per day from over 1,000 corporate customers in the first half of 2019. Its facial recognition services on consumer devices accounted for about 22 percent of its $133 million revenues in the same period.
«These are real policies, not mere words. Still, we acknowledge that challenges remain and these are early days,» said Yin Qi, co-founder and chief executive of Megvil Technology.
Privacy Matters
Megvil’s preemptive move occurs as more doubts are casted on how AI's potential negative impact could outweigh its gains. Megvil was recently accused by a New York-based human rights group of its involvement in the development of an app used in part of China’s mass surveillance infrastructure in Xinjiang but later reversed its claims.
But Megvil aside, other tech firms are facing similar pressures. Xiaomi, which is currently seeking to expand its business in India, made a 2018 exit out of the financing business in Indonesia after its bank partner pulled out due to concerns about invasive data collection practices.
«AI solutions should be tested extensively, used carefully and monitored rigorously. We believe that we have an obligation to ensure our innovations will bring a positive impact to society,» Megvil added. «Our contracts are structured to guard against weaponization and misuse of our technology.»
