Digital responsibility

All new business models are based on data and this is spurring a gold rush in many companies. Lower costs, higher efficiency and a better customer experience: these are the promises to customers. But just because something is feasible does not mean it will also be accepted.

The ideal price for each customer – data-based business models already enable prices to be individually set for each customer. But is it fair if we have to pay more for a book than our neighbour just because the system classifies us as having higher purchasing power?

New pricing models

Individualized prices solely aimed at maximizing a company’s profits are at the expense of the customers, and are thus considered unfair. It’s especially questionable when deep-pocketed customers are not shown the affordable offers at all, or when they need a product urgently and are offered an extortionate price. But if there is an understandable reason for adjusted prices, for example if a day pass is more expensive when the weather is nice, most people do not have a problem with it. Companies would do well to deploy new pricing models in a proportionate way to make sure good customer relations are not put at risk.

Automated decisions

Technology is never used in a neutral way. It is always people who decide which data underlies a piece of technology and what it is used for. But more and more processes and decisions are being automated to save on costs and offer a 24-hour service, which is intended to benefit customers. But how can you be sure that the end result is what was expected? Amazon, for example, had to admit that women were being discriminated against through their AI-supported selection process. Incidents such as these need to be prevented by implementing internal guidelines and quality criteria to ensure responsible data management.

Digital identity

We are all leaving a digital footprint behind in our networked world, whether by surfing online or paying with a customer card. At the same time, we are increasingly running the risk of relinquishing a major part of our private sphere and thus losing control over our own digital identity. As such, it is important that companies carefully consider which data they want to gather and use, and for what purpose. Complying with data protection is the first concern, but there are also ethical questions to consider such as whether it is wise to analyse a person’s voice or face during the recruitment process.

In short: new technologies like artificial intelligence do give rise to entirely new possibilities, but these bring risks as well as opportunities. Which ones do we want to use? And which ones not because they come into conflict with existing values such as fairness, protection of privacy or non-discrimination. When answering these questions, we need to look beyond purely financial concerns. For customer-oriented companies, an ethical compass is of crucial significance.

Cornelia Diethelm will be speaking at the Connecta Bern 2019.