AI Washing: Drying, Folding Up, and Putting Away This Threat to the Growth of AI

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Artificial intelligence has already had a positive effect on several industries, but unfortunately, this popularity and success have caused some wrongdoers to attempt to capitalize on the AI boom in unethical and illegitimate ways. One such practice is known as “AI washing,” and it is arguably one of the biggest threats to the continued growth of AI.

AI washing is most easily understood by comparing it to the similar practice of greenwashing, in which companies misrepresent their products as being more eco-friendly than they actually are. Similarly, AI washing involves making false representations of a product or service’s use of artificial intelligence technology. Through this deceit, businesses are riding the wave of AI hype without offering their customers the benefits.

Why AI washing is bad for everyone

The most obvious consequences of AI washing are for consumers who have been misled by companies and their deceitful marketing. Because of the intense hype around artificial intelligence, consumers may use a company’s claims regarding its use of AI to inform their purchasing decisions, spending their hard-earned money — sometimes at a premium — purchasing products or services with the expectation of higher levels of performance. When AI-washed products don’t deliver, consumers’ wallets suffer.

There are more than just direct victims of AI washing, though, as companies that make false claims about artificial intelligence are effectively stealing from the real innovators. Any investments in or purchases from a company representing themselves with AI washing are funds that could have been going to a company that genuinely supports and uses artificial intelligence.

However, perhaps the most detrimental impact of AI washing is that it erodes the public’s trust in the technology itself. AI washing conditions consumers and stakeholders to expect underperformance, fueling their reluctance to embrace genuine AI innovations due to feeling so often disappointed by products mislabeled as artificial intelligence. Especially in a time when AI technology is still “emerging” and people are learning to live with it, restoring and preserving this trust should be a top concern.