CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pegasystems
Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), the software company empowering digital
transformation at the world's leading enterprises, today announced
Ethical Bias Check, a new capability of Pega Customer Decision Hub™
that helps eliminate biases hidden in the artificial intelligence
(AI) driving customer engagements. The feature flags possible
discriminatory offers and messages generated by AI across all
channels before they reach the customer.
Done right, AI has helped businesses add more value to every
customer interaction, leading to deeper brand loyalty and higher
profits. But in some cases, AI models can unintentionally 'learn'
biases over time related to factors such as age, ethnicity, or
gender. Left undetected, this can lead to harmful discriminatory
practices such as offering fewer loans, insurance policies, or
product discounts to underserved populations. In today's
unpredictable economy, businesses can't risk losing the trust of
their customers, who are already more vulnerable due to the
pandemic.
With its Ethical Bias Check, Pega adds its latest capability to
help businesses practice responsible AI when used in customer
interaction. It detects unwanted discrimination by using predictive
analytics to simulate the likely outcomes of a given strategy.
After setting their testing thresholds, clients receive alerts when
the bias risk reaches unacceptable levels – such as if the audience
for a particular offer skews toward or away from specific
demographics. Operations teams can then pinpoint the offending
algorithm and adjust the strategy to help ensure a fair and more
balanced outcome for everyone.
With the advanced AI-power of Pega Customer Decision Hub sitting
at the center of all customer interactions, Ethical Bias Check
differentiates itself from other customer bias prevention methods
with its unique capabilities such as:
- Making bias detection simple and easy: Most other AI
bias tools require separate bias tests for each individual offer –
which can be time consuming and error prone. Pega streamlines bias
testing by simulating an entire engagement strategy at once
across all connected channels. With Pega's central AI "brain," all
AI decisions can be screened for bias – including which marketing
offers to display on the web, which promotions to deliver in an
email, or what service suggestions to make for each customer.
Pega's detailed bias detection reports help clients understand why
and where the issues might arise so they can correct them before
they become problems.
- Offering more flexibility in controlling bias:
Companies can set acceptable thresholds for an element that could
cause bias, such as age, gender, or ethnicity. Business people can
adjust these thresholds for scenarios where slanted outcomes may be
justified – such as when a healthcare company reaches out mostly to
senior citizens with information about relevant Medicare services.
Clients have the flexibility to widen or narrow the thresholds to
account for the desired outcomes of their engagement
strategies.
- Providing continual bias protection: Clients can now
include bias testing as a standard course of action when simulating
strategy results. Even as those strategies are adjusted and new
offers or actions are added, clients have peace of mind that those
customer engagement programs are being screened for bias by the
software.
In addition to Ethical Bias Check, Pega has previously
introduced other features and functions in Pega Customer Decision
Hub aimed at helping clients act responsibly with AI. This includes
the T-Switch, which gives organizations control over the
transparency of their artificial intelligence (AI) customer
engagement models.
Pega Customer Decision Hub serves as an always-on
"brain" providing centralized AI across all customer touchpoints to
optimize every interaction and maximize customer value. Its
predictive analytics and customer decision management enables
organizations to surface unique insights and recommend the next
best action in real time on every step of the customer journey –
from marketing to sales to customer service and retention. Pega
Customer Decision Hub provides the AI power across the unified Pega
Infinity™ digital transformation software suite, optimizing
customer engagement and operational efficiency from end to end.
To learn more about how Ethical Bias Check is helping businesses
reduce unintentional bias from their sales and marketing
strategies, visit
www.pega.com/products/customer-decision-hub/ethical-bias-check.
Quotes & Commentary:
"As AI is being embedded in
almost every aspect of customer engagement, certain high-profile
incidents have made businesses increasingly aware of the risk of
unintentional bias and its painful effect on customers," said Dr.
Rob Walker, vice president
decisioning & analytics, Pegasystems. "With the Ethical Bias
Check, we're empowering businesses with tools that help reduce AI
bias to improve how businesses interact with customers and increase
customer lifetime value."
Supporting Resources:
- Feature background: Ethical Bias Check
- Video: Ethical Bias Check feature demo
- Research: Pega AI and Empathy study
- Whitepaper: AI in Business - Balancing Risk vs Reward
About Pega
Pega is the leader in cloud software for
customer engagement and operational excellence. The world's most
recognized and successful brands rely on Pega's AI-powered software
to optimize every customer interaction on any channel while
ensuring their brand promises are kept. Pega's low-code application
development platform allows enterprises to quickly build and evolve
apps to meet their customer and employee needs and drive digital
transformation on a global scale. For more than 35 years, Pega has
enabled higher customer satisfaction, lower costs, and increased
customer lifetime value. For more information on Pegasystems
(NASDAQ: PEGA) visit www.pega.com.
Press Contact:
Sean
Audet
Pegasystems Inc.
sean.audet@pega.com
(617)
528-5230
Twitter: @pega
All trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
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SOURCE Pegasystems Inc.