Etsy Publishes AI Principles For Keeping Human Connection At Center Of Innovation
As AI continues to be pushed further into online shopping and selling experiences, Etsy has published their statement of AI Principles for Keeping Human Connection At The Center Of Innovation.
The commitment to a "human-first, AI-enabled" approach for the platform was posted in a company blog today.
Since its inception, Etsy has used the power of technology to strengthen communities and empower people around the world.
Today, as we consider the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on our daily lives, Etsy’s commitment to human creativity and connection is as strong as ever. We see AI’s potential to streamline and enhance our experience, enabling employees to be more productive, buyers to more easily discover items they love, and sellers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time doing what they love: creating special items.
However, we also acknowledge that care and oversight is needed to ensure AI meets the needs of our community while safeguarding security, privacy and humanity. As we continue to innovate at Etsy, we will maintain a human-first, AI-enabled approach, guided by the following principles.
Here's what Etsy listed for AI principles, followed by my thoughts on the subject.
Respect
"We place respect for our communities, human rights, the Earth’s finite resources, and the well-being of all stakeholders at the core of our approach to AI. With a large, global community, we often make judgment calls about optimal outcomes across different stakeholders."
"While AI can support the decision-making process, we recognize that human oversight is required to make informed, balanced decisions that respect the needs of our communities and world."
The idea of human oversight being required to make informed, balanced decisions should particularly resonate with sellers who have had their legitimate items taken down by automated bot driven enforcement processes with little to no ability to appeal or get help from human support.
Liz Morton
But beyond the flowery language of this new commitment, Etsy will have to show they are serious about keeping human oversight at the forefront rather than simply letting AI run amok with many legitimate, policy-following sellers caught in the crossfire as collateral damage.
Fairness
"We aim to build marketplaces that are diverse, welcoming and inclusive, and we seek to drive access to opportunity among employees, suppliers, and creative communities."
"While AI can be a powerful tool for achieving these commitments, unchecked deployment can exacerbate bias. We aim to guard against discrimination and unfair impacts in our communities."
Again, that all might sound good, but many users would likely say that Etsy did not do a great job of guarding against discrimination with the recent sales of Alligator Alcatraz merchandise, many of which were allowed to stay up even after reporting despite clear conflict with published Etsy policies.
Liz Morton
Reliability
"We recognize that emerging technologies can carry inherent imperfections and the potential for anomalies. As we test and deploy AI, we will focus on consistency and reliability to help sellers reach their goals and enhance their creativity, employees to effectively complete projects, and buyers to seamlessly navigate their shopping journeys."
Users who have encountered AI across various places on Etsy say reliability is still a huge issue - including when AI powered search displays results which may be potentially harmful or even deadly for consumers.
Liz Morton
This infusion of AI into search results and other places which effectively creates new content not drawn explicitly from third-party seller content could raise some very interesting questions regarding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and platform immunity for product liability.
Liz Morton
Transparency
"Trust is essential to building strong communities, and transparency is foundational to trust. As such, we aim to provide appropriate transparency around how we leverage AI for the benefit of our community."
Sellers continue to express concerns about lack of transparency into how, when and where Etsy may be using AI to create alt text for images and present buyers with review summaries.
Liz Morton
Again, without concrete details about exactly how Etsy is going to "provide appropriate transparency", this point feels like nothing but an empty platitude.
Privacy
"We care deeply about privacy and we’re committed to being upfront about our privacy practices, including how we treat personal information. In developing products and features that incorporate AI, we prioritize safeguarding the privacy of all stakeholders."
And yet again I have to say Etsy needs to give a lot more detail on how exactly they are safeguarding privacy, especially considering they are currently facing a class action lawsuit over alleged privacy violations involving pixel tracking.
Liz Morton
Security
"We take security seriously and are committed to protecting our AI systems from unauthorized access, modification, and misuse by malicious actors."
"Innovation for innovation’s sake has never been - and will never be - the goal. Instead, we meticulously consider how every new technology can improve and humanize the Etsy experience for our sellers, buyers and employees."
"Navigating the evolving technology landscape is a complex undertaking, but we are dedicated to letting these principles guide our innovation, so we can champion humanity in commerce."
Final thoughts: this all looks like nothing but a corporate compliance box checking exercise that could have very well been written entirely by AI, completely lacking the human connection Etsy says they are committed to keeping as their supposed guiding light.
The first step in "Keeping Commerce Human" needs to be talking to your human users like humans and addressing their very real, human questions and concerns and this...definitely isn't that.
What do you think of Etsy's AI Principles? Do they address questions and concerns you have about how the company is using this new technology? Let us know in the comments below!
