Skip to main content
Leidos
Search
  • Global
  • Employees
  • News
  • Investors
  • Contact
  • Company
    • Our Business

      We embrace and solve some of the world's toughest challenges.

      • Civil
      • Defense
      • Health
      • Intelligence
      • Dynetics
      • Leidos Innovations Center (LInC)
      IT analysts in discussion over monitors

      Leidos completes acquisition of 1901 Group, expanding digital modernization capabilities.

      Read Press Release

    • Mission, Vision and Values

      Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community.

      • Mission
      • Vision
      • Values
      man sitting on bleachers holding soccer ball

      Let’s come together and talk about the changes that are needed

      The Opioid Epidemic: A Call to Action

    • Leadership

      Meet the executive team responsible for leading our forward-thinking employees toward a shared success.

      • Roger Krone
      • James Reagan
      • Paul Engola
      • Roy Stevens
      • Steve Hull
      • Jerry Howe
      • Michele Brown
      • Jim Carlini
      • James Cantor
      • Kamal Dua
      • Jim Moos
      • Gerry Fasano
      • Vicki Schmanske
      • Liz Porter
      • David King
      • Board of Directors
      Roger Krone

      Meeting the challenges of an uncertain world

      An interview with CEO Roger Krone

    • History

      Leidos has a long history of innovative problem-solving and customer service, dating all the way back to 1969 when Dr. J. Robert Beyster founded his "crazy little company".

      • Explore our History
      • Dr. J. Robert Beyster
      • A Kaleidoscope of Innovation: The Story of Leidos
      Dr. Beyster

      Almost 50 years ago, visionary scientist J. Robert Beyster, Ph.D. founded the company that evolved into Leidos.

      Read More

    • Inclusion & Diversity

      Our commitment to inclusion and diversity is reflected in the way we engage our people, our customers, and our external partnerships through our innovative programs, sponsorships, and engagement.

      • CEO Letter
      • Our Commitment to Inclusion
      • An Inclusive Workforce
      • Operation MVP
      35th BEYA conference logo

      The 2021 class of awardees at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) is the largest in Leidos history with 37 employees to be honored.

      Breaking Records at 35th Annual BEYA Conference

    • Responsibility & Sustainability

      We're equally committed to using our time and resources to support people, enrich communities, and protect the environment.

      • CEO Message
      • Executive Summary
      • Community
      • Environment
      • People
      • Inclusion & Diversity
      • Political Activities
      • Suppliers and Small Business Relationships
      • About our Reporting
      • GRI™ Standards
      Leidos CEO Roger Krone

      Our response to COVID-19: A message to our valued customers, partners and colleagues

      Read Message

    • Ethics & Compliance

      We have a strong history of performance that rests on our foundation of integrity.

      • File a Report
      • History of Ethics
      • Ethics Program Structure
      • Code of Conduct
      World's Most Ethical Companies 2020 logo

      Leidos named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for third consecutive year

      Read More

    • Rankings & Awards

      Our innovative approach and the services and solutions we deliver frequently earn Leidos recognition from our industry and the media.

      • Enterprise Awards
      • Defense Awards
      • Civil Awards
      • Health Awards
      three award icons

      A frequent honoree on the corporate awards circuit, Leidos is proud of its many industry-specific and corporate-level achievements.

      Read More

    • Partners

      The Leidos Alliance Partner Network emphasizes connections through partnership and collaboration that drive innovation, advance technology and build efficiency.

      • Corporate Strategic Partners
      • Technology Integration Partners
      • Emerging Technology Partners
      D.C. United player Wayne Rooney with soccer ball mid-game with Leidos banner in background

      Leidos partnership with MLS club D.C. United takes the field again.

      Why we're in Black-and-Red's corner

    • Subsidiaries

      Our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries attract and retain top talent motivated to deliver results for clients.

      • 1901 Group
      • Dynetics, Inc.
      • Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.
      • Leidos Digital Solutions
      • BEONTRA
      • QTC
      • Leidos Engineering, LLC
      • Systems Made Simple
      • Varec, Inc.
      IT analysts in conversation over monitors

      Leidos completes acquisition of 1901 Group, expanding digital modernization capabilities.

      Read Press Release

    • Contract Vehicles

      Whether you’re a potential government customer or a prospective supplier, through this listing you can find our technical and professional services under pre-negotiated terms and conditions.

      • Governmentwide MACs & IDIQs
      • GSA Schedules
      • Agency Specific IDIQs
      • International
    • Global

      With more than 400 locations in 30 countries, we continue to expand our presence and strengthen our international relationships.

      • United Kingdom & Europe
      • Australia
      • Israel
      • Middle East
      • Canada
      Graphic showing buildings connected by technology

      Meeting UK border management security needs, now and long into the future.

      More On Border Management

    • Trust

      Cybersecurity and data privacy is central to what we do; protecting data, systems, and infrastructure that are critical to our employees, customers, communities, and stakeholders.

      • Commitment to Privacy & Cybersecurity
      • Cybersecurity
      • Data Privacy
      • Privacy Statement
      Citizens walking with data flowing around them

      Today, tomorrow, and every day is Data Privacy Day

      Read the Article

  • Markets
    • Aviation

      Bringing efficiency and modernization to the global aviation market.

      • Air Traffic Management
      • ANSP Professional Services
      • Security Detection & Automation
      • Intelligent Approach
      • Scenario Planning & Forecasting
      • Passenger Flow Measurement
      • FODD & Fuels Management
      • Flight Management & Briefing
      Leidos Smartlane in use at an airport

      Safeguarding travel and trade at a global scale, Leidos completes acquisition of L3Harris Technologies’ Security Detection & Automation businesses.

      Learn About Our Portfolio

    • Defense

      Science for a safer world

      • Airborne
      • Autonomy & Autonomous Solutions
      • Command & Control
      • Cyber
      • Digital Modernization
      • Operations & Logistics
      • Training
      IT analysts in discussion over monitors

      Leidos completes acquisition of 1901 Group, expanding digital modernization capabilities.

      Read Press Release

    • Energy

      Trusted expertise for energy projects and programs

      • Site Management & Operations
      • Power Delivery
      • Integrated Energy Management
      • Project Finance & Development
      • Digital Utilities
      • Manufacturing Systems
      Seattle skyline

      Seattle City Light has been turning to Leidos for their utility industry experience and engineering talent.

      Read The Case Study

    • Government

      Collaborating with government agencies to help citizens thrive

      • Cybersecurity
      • Digital Modernization
      • Health IT
      • Forms Processing
      • Operations & Logistics
      • Mission Software Systems
      IT analysts in discussion over monitors

      Leidos completes acquisition of 1901 Group, expanding digital modernization capabilities.

      Read Press Release

    • Healthcare

      Building a healthy connection between technology and people

      • Hospital Systems
      • Federal Health
      • Military Health
      • Veteran Health
      Healthcare professional using tablet

      Taking a strategic approach to experience true digital transformation in healthcare

      Read White Paper

    • Homeland

      Integrating, applying, and advancing IT to tackle the ever-advancing challenges of protecting our borders.

      • Biometrics
      • Mission Cyber and Network Defense
      • Integrated Systems
      • Digital Modernization
      • Data Analytics
      • Intelligence & Linguistic Services
      • CBRN Defense
      • Human Capital Services
      • Complex Logistics
      Leidos Smartlane in use at an airport

      Safeguarding travel and trade at a global scale, Leidos completes acquisition of L3Harris Technologies’ Security Detection & Automation businesses.

      Learn About Our Portfolio

    • Intelligence

      Rapidly transforming vast and varied data into actionable intelligence

      • Intelligence Community Engineering
      • Collection, Analysis & Reporting
      • Operational Support & Training
      Analysts discussing geospatial data

      Delivering commercial innovations to mission realities for the NGA in St. Louis

      Learn more about digital modernization

    • Science

      Groundbreaking scientific research and environmental management best practices that make headways in the defense, civilian and health markets

      • Life Sciences
      • Autonomous Systems
      • Airborne & Ground ISR
      • Command and Control
      • Electronic Warfare
      • Environmental Science
      • Modeling, Simulation & Training
      • Sensors
      • Specialty Sciences
      Illustration representing health-focused scientific research

      NCI's Frederick National Laboratory has launched three initiatives focused on SARS-CoV-2.

      Read the Article

    • Space

      IT, engineering, and science expertise to execute on the most critical of exploration missions

      • NASA
      • Defense
      • Commercial
      Astronaut planting U.S. flag on the lunar surface

      Take an interactive tour of the Artemis mission and experience our human landing system in augmented reality.

      Learn More About Lunar, our Augmented Reality Experience

    • Surface Transportation

      Engineering and research in support of next generation transportation

      • Connected & Automated Vehicles
      • Human Factors Research
      • Analysis, Modeling & Simulation
      • Transportation Safety
      • Operations
      • Asset Management
      • Accelerated & e-Construction
      • Freight
      • Research Facility Management
      Semi-truck driving on highway

      End-to-end shipment visibility with TransVM

      View Fact Sheet

  • Capabilities
    • Cyber Operations

      We use intelligent automation and AI/ML-driven analytics, combined with detection and mitigation, to protect and defend the nation's largest and most attacked mission-critical networks.

      • Security Operations Center
      • Insider Threat
      • Cyber Analytics
      • Information Assurance
      • Risk Management Framework
      • Accredited Testing & Evaluation
      • EXCITE
      Security on a mission text overlaid on blue graphic

      Outpacing adversaries through the application of IT, engineering, and science.

      More on Securing What’s Important

    • Digital Modernization

      We deliver resilient IT solutions and managed services that leverage trusted AI and full-spectrum cyber to decrease vulnerabilities in complex IT operations.

      • User Engagement
      • Digital Workplace
      • Mobility
      • Cloud
      • Application Modernization
      • Data Center Modernization
      • SecDevOps
      • Network Modernization
      IT analysts in discussion over monitors

      Leidos completes acquisition of 1901 Group, expanding digital modernization capabilities.

      Read Press Release

    • Integrated Systems

      Delivering high-performing hardware and software systems to solve challenges in an array of specializations.

      • Autonomy & Autonomous Solutions
      • Biometrics
      • Command & Control
      • Security Detection & Automation
      • Sensors
      • SE Core
      • Tactical Data Links
      • Advanced Computing
      • Computational Fluid Dynamics
      • TRAPS
      Astronaut planting U.S. flag on the lunar surface

      Take an interactive tour of the Artemis mission and experience our human landing system in augmented reality.

      Learn More About Lunar, our Augmented Reality Experience

    • Mission Operations

      We leverage our in-depth domain knowledge and mission understanding to provide cost-effective tools and enhanced processes that are secure, resilient, and support our customer's critical missions.

      • Antarctic Support Contract
      • ISS Cargo Mission Contract
      • Logistic Commodities & Services Transformation Programme
      • Strategic National Stockpile
      • Defense Logistics Support
      Ice sheet in Antarctica

      Each year, Leidos moves more than six million pounds of cargo and coordinates 100 flight missions to and from Antarctica.

      About Our Role

    • Mission Software Systems

      Through disciplined processes, common tools, reusable frameworks, automation, collaboration, and domain expertise, our mission software systems are designed to deliver secure, mission quality software.

      • LEAF
      • OneSAF
      • Command & Control
      • Data Analytics
      • Healthcare Analytics
      Software on a mission text on blue background

      Mission quality software. Silicon Valley speed.

      More on Building Better Software

    • Enabling Technologies

      Our enabling technologies are the backbone of our core capabilities, supporting our customer's important work from the front lines.

      • Secure, Rapid Software
      • Trusted AI/ML
      • Full-Spectrum Cyber
      • Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing
      Military radar simulation with green display, showing a glowing grid with coordinates and positioning numbers

      How we are deploying AI to solve the world’s toughest problems.

      Artificial Intelligence in Action

    • Technology Certifications

      Technology certifications with world-class providers.

      • AWS
      • Cisco
      • Microsoft
      • Scaled Agile
      • ServiceNow
      group of coworkers looking at computer monitor

      Helping our partners save money and improve performance.

      How the Cloud Saved Some Coin

  • Insights
    • Insights

      Expertise, industry leadership, unique perspectives, and more - directly from our employees and stakeholders.

      • Latest Insights
      • On A Mission
      • MindSET Podcast
      • Press Releases
      • Heroes of Leidos
      • Our Experts
      • Careers & Culture
      • Community
      • Articles
      • Case Studies
      • Infographics
      • Q&As
      Astronaut planting U.S. flag on the lunar surface

      Take an interactive tour of the Artemis mission and experience our human landing system in augmented reality.

      Learn More About Lunar, our Augmented Reality Experience

  • Careers
    • Latest Opportunities

      Keep up to date on the latest career opportunities at Leidos.

      • Military Veteran Program
      • External Referral Program
      • Intern & New Graduate Jobs
      • Careers with Leidos in the United Kingdom
      • Careers with Leidos in Australia
      • Opportunities for Leidos employees
      five coworkers sitting around a laptop

      Your most important work is still ahead. Explore opportunities at Leidos.

      View our Latest Opportunities

    • Life at Leidos

      A career at Leidos offers meaningful and engaging work, a collaborative culture, support for your career goals, while nurturing a healthy work-life balance.

      • Our Values
      • Our Culture
      • An Inclusive Workforce
      • Build a Career
      five coworkers sitting around a laptop

      Your most important work is still ahead. Explore opportunities at Leidos.

      View our Latest Opportunities

    • Pay & Benefits

      Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision, which is why our compensation packages reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers.

      • Compensation
      • Health & Wellness
      • Income Protection
      • Leave
      • Retirement
      • Family Benefits
      five coworkers sitting around a laptop

      Your most important work is still ahead. Explore opportunities at Leidos.

      View our Latest Opportunities

    • Frequently Asked Questions

      Find answers to the most commonly asked questions related to securing a role at Leidos.

      • Searching for a Role
      • Applying for a Job
      • Determining Application Status
      • System Access
      • Job Eligibility Requirements
      • Receiving Job Notifications
      • Our Talent Community
      • Career Insights
      five coworkers sitting around a laptop

      Your most important work is still ahead. Explore opportunities at Leidos.

      View our Latest Opportunities

  • Search Search
  • Company
  • Markets
  • Capabilities
  • Insights
  • Careers
Back to top

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Insights

Confronting AI's inclusion problem

Q&AI series motion

The ethics of AI remain a hot topic as we begin the new decade, specifically surrounding algorithmic bias. Like a child to a parent, machine learning models mimic the behavior of their human creators who are prone to biased thinking. We’ve seen AI perpetuate and even amplify injustice in hospitals, courtrooms, and the workplace, and warning flags are up in higher education.

As this is happening, there’s significant research pursuing breakthroughs that would allow our AI to meet anti-discrimination standards and policy. Leidos data scientists are taking up this challenge by engineering models with greater transparency. For example, one particular program in the intelligence community sheds light on data classification decisions made within the inscrutable black box of deep neural networks. At last summer’s AI Palooza, Dr. Vicente Ordonez Roman presented his team’s award-winning research, sponsored by Leidos, which studied the mechanics of why machine learning amplifies gender stereotypes in image recognition and natural language processing.

How can we trust AI when it’s earned a healthy distrust in the past? To learn more we welcome Dr. Shirley Cavin, a forceful advocate for greater diversity and inclusion in the field. Later this month she’ll sit on a panel, hosted by Leidos and Scotland Women in Technology, to discuss important topics regarding ethics in AI.

Q: According to the headlines, AI is not working for everyone. What will it take to change this?

Dr. Cavin: The bottom line is we need more accountability. Often we don’t really know how our AI makes decisions. This might be okay with trivial matters, but definitely not when algorithmic bias causes discrimination or other harm to people. More broadly, we need to be aware of the damage our technology can cause. As technologists, researchers, and scientists, sometimes we get lost in the depth of the challenge itself. We become so focused on solving the problem that we don’t fully think through how it will be used. AI is powerful because of its potential to solve a lot of our complex problems, but when we include technology in human activities, we need to think about serious things like safety, security, reliability, and fairness. We can’t develop technology first and think about its consequences later. It’s both together. It’s important to note that while we want to promote responsible technology, we also don’t want these factors to kill innovation.
 

Shirley Cavin

We can't develop technology first and think about its consequences later. It's both together.

Dr. Shirley Cavin, Data Science Manager, Leidos UK


Q: Where does your passion about this issue come from, and why should others care as deeply as you do?

Dr. Cavin: Inclusion is a societal issue which makes us all vested stakeholders. We don’t want to discard any member of our society. I guess my passion comes from my soft side. I love technology, but I also have a family. I’m a mother. So I try to bring all these things forward so that technology improves our lives. We can either do technology for the sake of technology, or we can do the much smarter thing and understand its consequences and impact on human life. I’ve listened to a lot of talks by researchers who are doing very, very interesting things with AI. But often when I raise questions around the consequences of that technology, these important questions go unanswered.

Q: How do machines become biased?

Dr. Cavin: AI is the type of technology that enables systems (software and hardware) to do activities that require “intelligence,” which is the ability to use information, knowledge, and experience to make decisions and perform actions to achieve a set of goals. AI aims to replicate human behavior and the human way of learning, which will occur within the context of the communities in which it exists. If those communities have forms of social and cultural bias or discriminatory attitudes towards certain people and ideas, the AI can easily adopt those as well and even amplify them. This type of bias might also occur by design. As AI systems are designed, the designers could bring their own personal bias in the design of a system, and a set of discriminatory preferences could make their way into the system.

Inclusive AI animation

Third, bias could occur as the result of the data that is used to train and test the AI system. If this data is not a close and true representation of the ecosystem where it’s intended to be used, the results may be biased toward a certain portion of the population. However, if this is overcome and a true data representation is used, this still may not guarantee the reduction or elimination of social and cultural bias. For example, in communities where minority sectors or views belong to small portions of the population, they will be uncommon in the data used for training and testing. All of these considerations, if not well-thought or understood, may lead to mistrust and concerns about using AI in our communities, which would be very unfortunate because of AI’s great potential to benefit society.

Q: Where have you seen the most progress?

Dr. Cavin: Frameworks that enable us to think farther are helpful when we develop programs, which is why I am quite pleased governments are taking the lead. For example, the European Commission is running an ethical framework pilot, a framework that we as part of technology driven organizations should follow. But leaving ethics issues only to ethics professionals isn’t enough. For me, it needs to be a collaborative environment where everyone is participating in these discussions. Our common goal should be to make AI safe and inclusive, but also to promote the technology and continued innovation.

Q: What are the ingredients required to build this trust?

Dr. Cavin: Accountability, transparency, and fairness. When something goes wrong, there should be a human in the loop, a responsible party who can take ownership and fix the problem. We must also be transparent about the system’s design, training, testing, and performance, which means we need to understand it ourselves. Finally we must promote fairness by enabling the use of data that’s representative of the population with no bias toward or against particular sectors of people, and by making sure results are valid and outcomes respect the whole ecosystem’s interests and the views of where it is intended to be used. Other key ingredients to build trust on AI systems are safety and sustainability. These are particularly important to consider before the deployment and public use of any AI solution, therefore efforts should be put in place to safeguard the well-being of the communities and their early AI adoption.

Note: Inclusion is one of six Leidos core values. We define inclusion as fostering a sense of belonging, welcoming all perspectives and contributions, and providing equal access to opportunities and resources for everyone. This series previously explored how we can build trust in decisions made by AI.
 

Q&AI: Conversations on artificial intelligence
View More Insights
  • Q&AI header
    How does AI transform aerial combat?
  • Q&AI series graphic
    How can AI help anticipate human behavior?
  • Q&AI banner
    Can we prevent another AI winter?
Author
Brandon Buckner
Brandon Buckner Senior Editorial Manager

Brandon is a writer and content marketer based in the Washington, D.C. area. He loves to cover emerging technology and its power to improve society. 

Share
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Mail
  • Print Insight

Posted

February 17, 2020

Estimated Read Time

Author
Brandon Buckner

Tags

Artificial Intelligence
Q&A
Featured

Sign up for our newsletters

Stay up to date on our expertise, industry leadership, unique perspectives, and more by subscribing to our newsletters.

  • Company
    • Our Business
    • Mission, Vision, and Values
    • Leadership
    • History
    • Inclusion & Diversity
    • Responsibility & Sustainability
    • Ethics & Compliance
    • Rankings & Awards
    • Partners
    • Subsidiaries
    • Contract Vehicles
    • Global
    • Trust
  • Markets
    • Aviation
    • Defense
    • Energy
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Homeland
    • Intelligence
    • Science
    • Space
    • Surface Transportation
  • Capabilities
    • Cyber Operations
    • Digital Modernization
    • Integrated Systems
    • Mission Operations
    • Mission Software Systems
    • Enabling Technologies
    • Technology Certifications
  • Insights
    • News
  • Careers
    • Life at Leidos
    • Pay & Benefits
    • Alumni
    • FAQs

Want to know more?

Contact us about product information and pricing, customer feedback, stockholder services, or just to voice a concern.

Get started

  • © 2021 Leidos

  • Trust
  • Privacy Statement
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • © 2021 Leidos
  • Australian Privacy Statement
  • Australian Whistleblower Policy
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Utility Footer Navigation

  • Products
  • Customers
  • Suppliers
  • Investors
  • Employees
  • Accessibility
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • YouTube