Both risks and benefits emphasized in global UFF Recommendations for Safe and Ethical Use of AI in the fire services
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The 2024 Urban Fire Forum's Position Statement on the Safe and Ethical Use of AI emphasizes both the opportunities and risks that AI presents, especially within the fire service and public safety sectors.
While AI can enhance productivity, efficiency, and may improve the speed of decision-making, its irresponsible use could lead to problems such as bias, misinformation, security risks, and harm to communities.
The Urban Fire Forum advocates for a framework to ensure the responsible use of AI in fire departments.
Key points include:
- Safety and Security: AI must undergo rigorous testing to prevent harm and ensure cybersecurity. The fire service must adopt best practices to use AI responsibly.
- Privacy and Data Protection: AI's reliance on large datasets raises privacy concerns. Proper governance, anonymization, and consent are essential to protect personal data.
- Fairness and Non-Discrimination: AI systems must be designed to avoid perpetuating biases. Ongoing monitoring, diverse data, and inclusive teams are necessary.
- Transparency and Accountability: AI's decision-making should be understandable and transparent, with developers accountable for its outcomes.
- Human-Centered Design: AI should support human decisions, with mechanisms in place for overriding it when necessary. It should not undermine human autonomy or displace essential workers.
The statement calls for clear data governance policies within fire service organizations, emphasizing training, transparency, and ethical AI use. It warns against "solutionism," where AI is seen as a fix for complex problems without considering broader implications.
Download and read a PDF file of the entire Position Statement above.
Photo Credits:
Illustrations above: Risks and benefits of AI in the fire services. Illustration from an idea by Bjorn Ulfsson / CTIF, generated by Chat GPT.
Photo below from when CTIF President Milan Dubravac participated at the Urban Fire Forum in Boston, September 2024. Photo by Otto Drozd.
CTIF and FEU represented at NFPA´s Urban Fire Forum - Four new position papers agreed upon
Each September, the Urban Fire Forum meets, and fire chiefs from around the world endorse important documents for today’s fire service. This year, CTIF was represented by President Milan Dubravac and FEU by Stephan Weavers.
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) welcomed the Urban Fire Forum @NFPA head quarters in Quincy, Massachusetts with the national leaders and chiefs of some of the largest fire departments in the world.
The UFF meeting had a full agenda, coming around the table to discuss and share information on some of the most complex issues facing the fire service.
Learn more at www.nfpa.org/uff
Four documents were endorsed for today's fire service during Urban Fire Forum 2024:
- Safe and Ethical use of Artificial Intelligence
- Statement in Support of Considering Enhanced Decontamination Methodologies of PPE Following Exposure to Lithium-Ion Battery Fires
- Statement in Support of Further Research on Non-PFAS-Based PPE and In-Service Training Considerations
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Climate Change Position Statement