What are ethics in AI?AI ethics is a system of moral principles and techniques intended to inform the development and responsible use of artificial intelligence technology. As AI has become integral to products and services, organizations are starting to develop AI codes of ethics. Show
An AI code of ethics, also called an AI value platform, is a policy statement that formally defines the role of artificial intelligence as it applies to the continued development of the human race. The purpose of an AI code of ethics is to provide stakeholders with guidance when faced with an ethical decision regarding the use of artificial intelligence. Isaac Asimov, the science fiction writer, foresaw the potential dangers of autonomous AI agents long before their development and created The Three Laws of Robotics as a means of limiting those risks. In Asimov's code of ethics, the first law forbids robots from actively harming humans or allowing harm to come to humans by refusing to act. The second law orders robots to obey humans unless the orders are not in accordance with the first law. The third law orders robots to protect themselves insofar as doing so is in accordance with the first two laws. The rapid advancement of AI in the past five to 10 years has spurred groups of experts to develop safeguards for protecting against the risk of AI to humans. One such group is the nonprofit institute founded by MIT cosmologist Max Tegmark, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn and DeepMind research scientist Victoria Krakovna. The institute worked with AI researchers and developers as well as scholars from many disciplines to create the 23 guidelines now referred to as the Asilomar AI Principles. Kelly Combs, director at Digital Lighthouse, KPMG said that when developing an AI code of ethics "it's imperative to include clear guidelines on how the technology will be deployed and continuously monitored." These policies should mandate measures that guard against unintended bias in machine-learning algorithms, continuously detect drift in data and algorithms, and track both the provenance of data and the identity of those who train algorithms. AI experts and scholars from many disciplines created 23 guidelines now referred to as the Asilomar AI Principles.Why are AI ethics important?AI is a technology designed by humans to replicate, augment or replace human intelligence. These tools typically rely on large volumes of various types of data to develop insights. Poorly designed projects built on data that is faulty, inadequate or biased can have unintended, potentially harmful, consequences. Moreover, the rapid advancement in algorithmic systems means that in some cases it is not clear to us how the AI reached its conclusions, so we are essentially relying on systems we can't explain to make decisions that could affect society. An AI ethics framework is important because it shines a light on the risks and benefits of AI tools and establishes guidelines for its responsible use. Coming up with a system of moral tenets and techniques for using AI responsibly requires the industry and interested parties to examine major social issues and ultimately the question of what makes us human. What are the ethical challenges of AI?Enterprises face several ethical challenges in their use of AI technology.
What are the benefits of ethical AI?The rapid acceleration in AI adoption across businesses has coincided with -- and in many cases helped fuel -- two major trends: the rise of customer-centricity and the rise in social activism. "Businesses are rewarded not only for providing personalized products and services but also for upholding customer values and doing good for the society in which they operate," said Sudhir Jha, senior vice president and head of the Brighterion unit at Mastercard. AI plays a huge role in how consumers interact with and perceive a brand. Responsible use is necessary to ensure a positive impact. In addition to consumers, employees want to feel good about the businesses they work for. "Responsible AI can go a long way in retaining talent and ensuring smooth execution of a company's operations," Jha said. As AI and machine learning are becoming central to IT systems, companies must ensure their use of AI is ethical.What is an AI code of ethics?A proactive approach to ensuring ethical AI requires addressing three key areas, according to Jason Shepherd, vice president of ecosystem at Zededa, an edge AI tools provider.
Examples of AI codes of ethicsAn AI code of ethics can spell out the principles and provide the motivation that drives appropriate behavior. For example, Mastercard's Jha said he is currently working with the following tenets to help develop the company's current AI code of ethics:
The future of ethical AISome argue that an AI code of ethics can quickly become out of date and that a more proactive approach is required to adapt to a rapidly evolving field. Arijit Sengupta, founder and CEO of Aible, an AI development platform, said, "The fundamental problem with an AI code of ethics is that it's reactive, not proactive. We tend to define things like bias and go looking for bias and trying to eliminate it -- as if that's possible." A reactive approach can have trouble dealing with bias embedded in the data. For example, if women have not historically received loans at the appropriate rate, that will get woven into the data in multiple ways. "If you remove variables related to gender, AI will just pick up other variables that serve as a proxy for gender," Sengupta said. He believes the future of ethical AI needs to talk about defining fairness and societal norms. So, for example, at a lending bank, management and AI teams would need to decide whether they want to aim for equal consideration (e.g., loans processed at an equal rate for all races), proportional results (success rate for each race is relatively equal) or equal impact (ensuring a proportional amount of loans goes to each race). The focus needs to be on a guiding principle rather than on something to avoid, Sengupta argued. Most people would agree that it is easier and more effective to teach children what their guiding principles should be rather than to list out every possible decision they might encounter and tell them what to do and what not to do. "That's the approach we're taking with AI ethics," Sengupta said. "We are telling a child everything it can and cannot do instead of providing guiding principles and then allowing them to figure it out for themselves." For now, we have to turn to humans to develop rules and technologies that promote responsible AI. Shepherd said this includes programming products and offers that protect human interests and are not biased against certain groups, such as minority groups, those with special needs and the poor. The latter is especially concerning as AI has the potential to spur massive social and economic warfare, furthering the divide between those who can afford technology (including human augmentation) and those who cannot. Down the road, we also need to plan for the unethical use of AI by bad actors. Today's AI systems range from fancy rules engines to machine learning models that automate simple tasks. "It may be decades before more sentient AIs begin to emerge that can automate their own unethical behavior at a scale that humans wouldn't be able to keep up with," Shepherd said. This was last updated in June 2021 Continue Reading About AI ethics (AI code of ethics)
What are the 4 ethical systems?Four broad categories of ethical theory include deontology, utilitarianism, rights, and virtues. The deontological class of ethical theories states that people should adhere to their obliga- tions and duties when engaged in decision making when ethics are in play.
What are the 3 types of ethics?Ethics is traditionally subdivided into normative ethics, metaethics, and applied ethics.
What are the five 5 theories of ethics?This note outlines some of the basic terms used in the study of ethics and describes the task of business ethics. Most important, the text describes five theories of moral reasoning-utilitarianism, rule-based morality, a rights approach, a contemporary Aristotelian approach to virtuous character, and social justice.
What are the different moral ethical theories?There are a number of moral theories: utilitarianism, Kantianism, virtue theory, the four principles approach and casuistry.
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