A 3D-printed logo of Microsoft is seen in front of a displayed LinkedIn logo in this illustration taken on June 13, 2016.OAKLAND, Calif — Microsoft Corp's LinkedIn boosted subscription revenue by 8 per cent after arming its sales team with artificial intelligence software that not only predicts clients at risk of canceling, but also explains how it arrived at its conclusion.
AI technology can perpetuate societal biases like those around race, gender and culture. Some AI scientists view explanations as a crucial part of mitigating those problematic outcomes. LinkedIn and others developing explainable AI acknowledge that each step in the process — analysing predictions, generating explanations, confirming their accuracy and making them actionable for users — still has room for improvement.
"It has helped experienced salespeople by arming them with specific insights to navigate conversations with prospects. It's also helped new salespeople dive in right away," said Parvez Ahammad, LinkedIn's director of machine learning and head of data science applied research.In 2020, LinkedIn had first provided predictions without explanations. A score with about 80 per cent accuracy indicates the likelihood a client soon due for renewal will upgrade, hold steady or cancel.