TOKYO, Apr 2, 2019 – NEC Corporation has today released the “NEC Group AI and Human Rights Principles”. These core principles will further strengthen NEC’s efforts to demonstrate respect for privacy and human rights in relation to the application and utilization of AI and biometrics data across all businesses.
These principles will guide employees of NEC to prioritize privacy and human rights considerations in each and every stage of the NEC Group’s business operations along with compliance with all relevant laws and regulations globally.
In accordance with these principles, the NEC Group is committed to the three following initiatives:
1. Ensure that all products and services are implemented and utilized by NEC employees, customers and partners appropriately.
2. Continue to develop advanced technology and talent to further promote AI utilization.
3. Engage with a range of stakeholders to build partnerships and collaborate with closely.
There are increased needs for the application of services and products associated with AI utilization as a way of providing innovative solutions to address challenges in the world today. This trend has prompted a global debate about data privacy in relation to AI utilization and advancement of technology. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to formulate principles and implement regulations that take into consideration an individual’s right to privacy with respect to AI utilization.
In order to address challenges that may arise from advancement in AI and technology, NEC established the Data Distribution Strategy Office in April 2017, followed by the Digital Trust Business Strategy Division(1) in October 2018. The new division has been focused on developing corporate strategies and policy recommendations based on the concept of Human Rights by Design (HRbD). This approach helps to build the concept of privacy and fairness into each business process.
NEC, led by the Digital Trust Business Strategy Division, developed these principles in collaboration with its internal business divisions, including the Technology, Sustainability, Risk Management, and Marketing divisions, as well as external stakeholders, such as industry experts and non-profit organizations. Going forward, NEC will develop business activities based on these principles.
NEC promotes its Social Solution Business through the utilization of advanced AI solutions from “NEC the WISE”(2), IoT technologies, and “Bio-Idiom”(3), which enables instant authentication using face, iris, fingerprint, palm print, pulse, and acoustic data.
(1) NEC establishes Digital Trust Business Strategy Division
(2) ‘NEC the WISE’ is NEC’s portfolio of AI technologies.
(3) NEC’s multimodal biometric authentication brand, Bio-IDiom
For more information, visit NEC at www.nec.com.
