Study on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on product safety

11% of all UK households own some kind of ‘smart home’ technology, and most homes (51%) own a Smart TV. Over 1 in 5 homes own a smart speaker. These products can make our lives more convenient, whether it's asking them to order groceries, or tell us whether we need to take an umbrella with us, they are part of many people's lives.

The market for smart products continues to grow, but what are the opportunities and challenges for product safety?

A recent report from the Office of Product Safety and Standards recognises the potential opportunities:

• There is a significant body of research highlighting the economic and social benefits of AI generally.
• When specifically considering product safety, the opportunities are also
  extensive, but can differ by product group.
• The direct opportunities for product safety include: more efficient and effective products; and predictive maintenance, which can directly improve product safety, as well as reduce maintenance costs and product
  downtime.
• In addition, indirect opportunities exist, including: improved data collection and
  analysis in the different phases of industrial assembly to increase product quality; improved cyber security protection; AI powered product design; and increasing potential for personalised products.

And the challenges as:

• An AI-driven robot malfunctioning as a result of automated decisions causing physical injury; or cyber security vulnerabilities in a product leading to threats to physical safety.
• Immaterial harms, which are more likely to occur as a result of fairness and discrimination or privacy and data protection challenges, could include, for instance, the replacement of human contact for older people with autonomous products causing mental health issues; or discrimination in access to services for people with disabilities.