AI Associate Ethical Considerations of AI Practice Question
A nonprofit uses an AI system to allocate resources to communities in need. The system uses historical data which shows that certain neighborhoods have lower service usage. What ethical risk should be considered?
⚠ Common exam trap
Salesforce often tests the distinction between bias from training data (Option D) versus model explainability (Option C), so candidates mistakenly pick 'lack of explainability' when the real issue is that the model is accurately learning from flawed historical data.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The system may perpetuate historical inequities
The AI system uses historical data that reflects lower service usage in certain neighborhoods. If that historical data is biased due to past inequities (e.g., redlining, underinvestment, or systemic discrimination), the model will learn and amplify those patterns, leading to unfair resource allocation that perpetuates historical disadvantages. This is a classic case of algorithmic bias where the training data encodes societal biases, and the model's predictions reinforce them.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The system may violate data minimization principles
Why it's wrong here
Data minimization is about collecting only necessary data, not the core risk here.
- ✗
The system cannot be held accountable for decisions
Why it's wrong here
Accountability is a concern but less direct than perpetuating inequity.
- ✗
The system lacks explainability
Why it's wrong here
Explainability is important but not the primary ethical risk.
- ✓
The system may perpetuate historical inequities
Why this is correct
Using biased historical data can reinforce past discrimination.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AI Associate practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AI Associate exam.