AI Self-Driving Cars Need Chief Safety Officers at the Helm

Dr. Lance B. Eliot, AI Insider

Auto makers and tech firms are on-boarding Chief Safety Officers

Many firms think of a Chief Safety Officer (CSO) in a somewhat narrow manner as someone that deals with in-house occupational health and safety aspects occurring solely in the workplace. Though adherence to proper safety matters within a company are certainly paramount, there is an even larger role for CSO’s that has been sparked by the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Emerging AI systems that are being embedded into a company’s products and services has stoked the realization that a new kind of Chief Safety Officer is needed, one with wider duties and requiring a dual internal/external persona and focus.

In some cases, especially life-or-death kinds of AI-based products such as AI self-driving cars, it is crucial that there be a Chief Safety Officer at the highest levels of a company. The CSO needs to be provided with the kind of breadth and depth of capability required to carry out their now fuller charge. By being at or within the top executive leadership, they can aid in shaping the design, development, and fielding of these crucial life-determining AI systems.

Gradually, auto makers and tech firms in the AI self-driving car realm are bringing on-board a Chief Safety Officer or equivalent. It’s not happening fast enough, I assert, yet at least it is a promising trend and one that…