11 July 2021, London Heathrow.
A man is stopped by the police while checking in. The reason? Facial recognition software has mistaken him for a wanted person.
What the traveller didn't know was that his image was part of a database – but he had never authorised its use.
The technology behind it? Developed by Clearview AI – a US company that has collected billions of images from the internet without the consent of those depicted.
As a result, the Dutch data protection authority imposed a fine of 30.5 million euros on Clearview AI in 2024, arguing that the company was operating an ‘illegal database’ of biometric data and systematically violating the GDPR.
The case shows that AI without ethical guidelines is not progress – it is a risk.
This is exactly what Geoffrey Hinton, one of the ‘godfathers of AI,’ has repeatedly pointed out.
In 2023, he warned of a ‘loss of control through opaque AI systems’ that could lead to far-reaching social damage if left unregulated.
AI is not just technology – it is also an attitude
What does this mean for your business intelligence in 2025? Quite simply, anyone who uses AI-based tools today has a responsibility.
After all, artificial intelligence has long been more than just a technical feature. It makes decisions, analyses data and identifies patterns. And this is precisely where corporate values make the difference.
Building trust: Why values are important for data-driven tools
In the field of business intelligence (BI) and SAAS solutions that process data automatically, the how is crucial: How is AI developed, used and controlled?
Systems should not only be high-performing – they must also be GDPR-compliant and auditable.
Transparency, fairness, control: three criteria for trustworthy AI
This is exactly where transparency, control options and fair decision-making logic come into play.
Companies that link their AI strategies to clear values not only create legal certainty, but also actively strengthen the trust of their customers and partners.
Transparency
Users must understand how decisions are made. A BI tool that analyses order patterns, for example, should show in a comprehensible way why it triggers an alarm – instead of outputting results as a ‘black box’.
Fairness
AI-based decisions (e.g. pricing strategies, campaigns or risk assessments) must not result in systematic discrimination.
This requires training data without bias – and rules for ethical model behaviour.
Control
Decisions should not be made definitively by AI, but should remain verifiable.
Tools such as INTELLIFANT, for example, offer the option of evaluating alerts and pausing automated actions – an important element in operational control.
AI & data protection: What companies need to know now
A common misconception: GDPR-compliant AI hinders innovation.
The opposite is true. Those who consider data protection ‘by design’ create robust systems – and strengthen the trust of customers, employees and partners.
With the upcoming EU AI Act in mind, it is also worth setting proactive standards. Companies that work transparently today will avoid costly adjustments tomorrow.
In e-commerce in particular, this applies not only to obvious tools, but also to BI and monitoring systems as soon as personal data is analysed.
Conclusion: Ethics is not a luxury – it is a strategic advantage
In summary, anyone who uses AI must take responsibility.
Because AI is changing how we make decisions, control processes and scale business models. And the more responsibility systems take on, the more important it becomes to consider the values on which they are based.
That is why INTELLIFANT was developed from the outset to be GDPR-compliant, with a focus on transparency, data minimisation and control.
#ecommerce #earlywarning system #ethics #technology #businessintelligence #dataresponsibility
