Opinion | Society needs to make more informed decisions on data protection as AI and mobile solutions proliferate

Each day, artificial intelligence and other innovative advanced technologies are bringing real benefits to our lives – whether it’s quicker and safer access to our mobile devices, chatbots that can predict customer service requests or medical devices that can diagnose ailments with greater precision.

Along with these developments comes a growing global demand for better oversight over how users’ information is collected, stored, and used to train and power these innovations. Heeding the call, data protection legislation is making headway in more countries and regions. For example, next month Europe will mark the first anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation, while China will enter the second year of its Cyber Security Law a month after.

While the debates surrounding what constitutes an ideal solution continue to evolve, one thing is clear — responsible technology companies, partners and consumers need to come together to share knowledge to collectively arrive at better-informed decisions about data privacy policy and best practices.

There is a growing urgency for action on this front as AI-powered innovations increasingly transform how people around the world go about their daily lives. In China, for instance, technology developed by Alipay has helped millions of small business-owners obtain microloans to grow their businesses. Through their mobile phones, these entrepreneurs – ranging from shop-owners to street-side vendors – can apply for and receive approvals for loans in as little as three minutes.

We can expect ever broader adoption of such innovations due to the convenience and improvements that they bring. At the same time, as devices that collect and process our information become more integrated into our daily lives, companies need to implement stronger policies that ensure the security of customer data is treated with the utmost care.

Even companies with the most stringent and compliant data privacy and security policies will not be completely immune from data security breaches. With reports of security breaches and improper data collection continuing to give consumers anxiety, striking a balance between the risks and the benefits will also require a broader public dialogue that looks at the topic holistically.