Today, Orange reveals its Data and Artificial Intelligence Ethical Charter, which sets out the company’s ethical values in terms of data and artificial intelligence. This charter was drawn up by the Orange Data and AI Ethics Council consisting of 11 independent members recognized in the field and chaired, by delegation, by Michaël Trabbia, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Orange.
By adopting this charter, in connection with its purpose, Orange undertakes to develop a set of processes to support the company in this ethical and responsible approach to AI and data, which benefits its customers and employees alike.
This is an essential issue for Orange, which has placed data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, to reinvent the customer experience, improve its network performance, and increase its operational efficiency.
The ethical framework upheld by Orange is based on European and international recommendations for ethical data and artificial intelligence. It takes into account the ecosystems and environments of the countries where Orange and its subsidiaries are present and includes the six following principles:
- Contribute to environmental and social wellbeing challenges,
- Respect the autonomy and needs of humans, and operate under their supervision,
- Respect equality, diversity, and non-discrimination,
- Respect privacy through attentive protection and governance of data,
- Respect the specific challenges of each AI-based system in terms of resilience and security,
- Communicate transparently and clearly about the end use of AI-based solutions and establish a clear chain of responsibility.
“Adopting this Data and AI Ethical Charter demonstrates the Orange group’s desire to develop these innovative technologies for our customers but in a respectful and ethical way, protecting the trusted relationship we have with all our stakeholders,” says Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange.
This AI and Data Ethical Charter will be deployed throughout the Orange Group and all its subsidiaries, under the supervision of the Orange Data and AI Ethics Council. Created in March 2021, the role of this independent advisory body is to support the company’s implementation of ethical principles governing the use of data and artificial intelligence technologies.
The Orange Group has been working on the topic of ethical and responsible AI for several years: it has a research program to contribute to the responsible development, use and governance of human-focused AI systems. In 2020 it obtained the GEEIS-AI (Gender Equality Diversity European & International Standard - AI) label rewarding its initiatives to promote diversity and prevent the risk of discrimination in AI-based systems and it supports Impact AI, the leading Think & Do Tank for ethical artificial intelligence in France.
