At BT Group, our ambition is to be the UK's most trusted connector of people, business, and society. We are clear on the role we want to play in harnessing AI for a brighter future for everyone:
Combining human intelligence and artificial intelligence, we want to use the power of AI in a safe and ethical manner to unlock value for our customers and colleagues in alignment with our purpose to 'connect for good'.
Adoption will be key to unlocking the full value of AI at scale. To drive adoption, we’ll need to put people first – our colleagues, customers, and communities – and build trust.
At BT Group, we build and maintain trust by taking a responsible approach to tech that respects human rights. Our responsible tech principles - for good, accountable, fair, and open – ensure that we benefit people and minimise harms when we develop, use, buy or sell technology.
For Good
We use AI to empower people and improve their lives
Accountable
We take responsibility for our actions and strive to protect individuals and organisations against the misuse of AI
Fair
We take steps to identify and manage AI bias, and ensure outcomes are fair
Open
We listen, collaborate and are transparent about how we use AI
To ensure our principles are put into practice in the context of AI, we have robust policies, processes, and expert people, underpinned by strong foundations of data governance, privacy and security. This ensures responsibility and mitigates risk at every stage of the AI lifecycle – from conception to real world monitoring.
Our responsible AI approach is anchored in our wider risk management framework and governance:
- Our responsible tech principles are grounded in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and are part of our risk management framework.
- We communicate our approach to responsible tech governance and respecting people’s rights through our Human Rights Policy.
- Our ethics code – Being trusted: our code – spells out our commitments on responsible tech and human rights.
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BT Group human rights: Our policy commitment (pdf - 91 KB) - 01/08/2024
By Daniel Wilson, Policy & Public Affairs Director, Innovation & International
People blog
Unlocking AI value through a values-led approach
By Lauren Kahn, former Responsible Tech & Human Rights Director, BT Group and Armand David, former Corporate Affairs Director, Digital, BT Group