How To Battle Biased AI | Starbucks’ Winning Tech Brew | The Great Recruiter Shortage | And More

Plus: Businesses Investing In Drones Could Be Key To $1 Trillion Infrastructure Fix In The U.S.

Hi there, and welcome to our latest Forbes CIO newsletter, which we’re publishing a day early because of Thanksgiving. Let’s kick off with a big number: $27 billion. 

That’s the eye-wateringly large amount of money cyber company Bugcrowd reckons ethical hackers saved businesses between May 2020 and August of this year by using its platform to uncover security holes in corporate software. What gives the good guys an incentive to go looking for flaws that bad guys could exploit? Bug bounty payments from grateful companies that can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Bugcrowd clearly has an incentive to inflate that telephone-number-like statistic. But hundreds of companies are now running security bug-hunting programs, so the market has clearly concluded crowdsourcing is worthwhile in that arena. Could it help CIOs and other C-suite executives track down AI biases, too?

As I pointed out in this post, I think the answer to the question is a resounding “Yes!”  The algorithmic bias that leads to discrimination in everything from hiring to lending in AI models is often the result of a lack of diversity among the teams that built them. By encouraging a broader group of people to scrutinize algorithms, bounty programs can help uncover hidden and harmful biases.

So far, Twitter is the only company to have run a public AI bounty program, but Bugcrowd and HackerOne, a rival platform, both say a growing number of businesses are experimenting with them in private. Research firm Forrester predicts at least five major companies, including tech and healthcare ones, will launch public programs next year.

Many more could follow if lawmakers and regulators crack down harder on AI bias. The New York City Council recently passed a measure that would require companies to provide an annual bias audit on any AI-powered recruiting tools they sell to local employers. If other policymakers follow New York’s lead, they could trigger an AI bias bounty boom.

Thanks for reading—and do let me know if you have any suggestions for themes to cover in future issues. You can contact me on Twitter here and LinkedIn here.

Technology & Innovation

Cloud computing competition: The U.S. Department of Defense has invited four cloud companies to bid for its Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, which replaces its controversial and now-canned JEDI cloud initiative. The four candidates include former JEDI bidders Microsoft and Amazon, as well as Oracle and Google, which has been making a push into more specialized areas.

Blockchain for supply chains: Fashion house Rebecca Minkoff is using the blockchain to allow customers to see exactly what raw materials were used to make its high-end garments. As sensitivity over the environmental impact of manufacturing grows, this is likely to be a popular area for applying the technology. (If you’re planning to delight your CFO by mining bitcoin to pay for your blockchain, here’s a useful guide to working out how much that might cost.)

Leadership & Strategy

Succession planning: With the CIO role now so central to corporate success, getting succession planning right has become an even more important priority. It’s worth reading here about how Duke University’s legendary basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski, developed his own plan after 46 seasons on the Blue Devils' bench.

AI and brand building: Sure, AI can be bugged by biases, as I noted earlier, but it’s also an incredibly powerful tool that CIOs and CMOs can use to create new brands. Here’s a fascinating case study that looks at how algorithms helped launch Sama Tea.

Talent & Careers

Supporting disabled workers: Ensuring employees with disabilities have access to great technology and support in the workplace can make a huge difference to their lives—and to tech teams’ success. Haben Girma and Rachel Arfa, two highly accomplished executives with disabilities, share their thoughts on how tech firms and leaders can help remove barriers that make it harder for people with disabilities to thrive at work.

Recruiting recruiters: We all know the tech industry faces a massive talent shortage. One of the things that’s most worrying about this is the dire shortage of talent who could help fix it. Demand for recruiters is off the charts, but supply isn’t keeping up. So if you have great tech recruiters working for you, be sure to send them some extra warm wishes this Thanksgiving!

"We have more distributed resources around wind and solar coming on board. [Giving customers more options] through our digital channels is a key element."

Bhavani Amirthalingam

Chief digital information officer, Ameren

Across Forbes

• This Startup Raised $100 Million In Bid To Power All Doctor Information On The Internet


• America’s Largest Private Companies: Cargill Is Back At No.1


• Chobani Is Going Public. It’s ‘Anti-CEO’ Founder Won’t Be The Only Employee With A Big Payday