As we head inexorably towards an automated future and the almost infinite possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI), it is imperative that we identify the ethical implications of this emerging technology and address the unprecedented legal and social challenges that arise.
Tee Wee Ang and Dafna Feinholz (UNESCO)
Every once in a while, we encounter a technology that gives us pause to consider what it means to be human. The advent of AI requires us to engage in deep reflection on its potentially far-reaching impacts. Although the concept behind this technology has been in our collective imagination for decades, it is only now becoming an entrenched reality in our lives.
Recent advances in AI technology − especially those related to machine learning in general and deep learning in particular − have shown that AI-enabled systems can outperform humans in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in many areas, including tasks that require some degree of cognitive reasoning. As such, AI has the potential to bring about tremendous progress and benefits for humanity, while at the same time creating disruptions in the current socio-economic and political arrangements of human society.
When we think about the ethical implications of AI, we should be realistic about what AI is and is not, today. Generally, when we talk about AI we are referring to “narrow AI” or “weak AI”, which is designed to accomplish a specific task − such as analysing and improving traffic flow; making online recommendations of products, based on previous purchases, etc. Such “narrow AI” is already here − and will become increasingly complex and integrated into our daily lives.
For now, we are not considering what is termed “strong AI” or Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) depicted in many science-fiction stories and movies − which would purportedly be able to accomplish the full range of human cognitive tasks, and some experts argue, would even include traits of “self-awareness” and “consciousness”. Currently, there is no consensus on whether AGI is feasible, let alone when it will be achieved.
Machine learning and deep learning approaches require a large amount of historical and real-time data for an AI-enabled system to “learn” from “experience”, and an infrastructure for an AI to implement its goals or tasks, based on what it has learnt. This means that when we consider the ethical implications of AI, we must also take into account the complex technological environment that is required for AI to function. This environment includes the constant collection of big data through the Internet of Things; the storage of big data in the cloud; the use of big data by AI for its “learning” process; and the implementation of AI’s analyses or tasks through smart cities, autonomous vehicles, or robotic devices, etc.
The more complex technological development becomes, the more complex the ethical questions raised will be. While the ethical principles do not change, the ways in which we address them can change radically. As a result, these principles could be severely compromised, knowingly or unknowingly.
Our notions of privacy, confidentiality and autonomy, for example, could change radically. Through smart devices and apps that have become instruments of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, we are “freely” and willingly giving out our personal information, without properly understanding the potential uses of this data and by whom. This data is then fed into AI-enabled systems that are primarily being developed by the private sector. This data is not anonymized, so that the information about our preferences and habits can be used to create patterns for behaviour that allow an AI-enabled system to deliver political messages, sell commercial apps, keep track of some of our health-related activities, etc.
Would this mean the end of privacy? What about data security and vulnerability to hacking by criminals? Could this data also be co-opted by the State to control its population, perhaps to the detriment of the individual’s human rights? Would an AI-enabled environment that constantly monitors our preferences and provides us with a range of options based on those preferences, limit the extent of our autonomy of choice and creativity in some way?
Another important question to consider is whether the data that is being used by an AI-enabled system to learn contains embedded biases or prejudices, which might lead the AI to make decisions that result in discrimination or stigmatization. AI systems tasked with social interactions or the delivery of social services would be particularly vulnerable to this. We must be cognisant of the fact that some data, such as that generated on the internet, contains information that reflects both the best and the worst of humanity. Therefore, relying on an AI-enabled system to learn from this data is itself insufficient to ensure an ethical outcome – direct human intervention would be necessary.
Could an AI-enabled system be taught to be ethical? Some philosophers argue that some experiences – such as aesthetics and ethics – are inherent to human beings, so they cannot be programmed. Others propose that morality can be enhanced through rationality, and therefore can be programmed, but free choice must be respected. There is currently no consensus about whether ethics and morality can be taught even to humans, based only on rational thinking, let alone to an AI. Even if an AI was eventually programmed to be ethical, whose ethics would we use? Would they only be the ethics of the developers? Given that the development of AI is primarily driven by the private sector, it is imperative to consider the possibility that the ethics of the private sector could be inconsistent with the ethics of society.
If we are to ensure that AI works for, instead of against us, we must engage in a comprehensive dialogue that includes the different ethical perspectives of everybody affected by it. We must make sure that the ethical framework we use to develop AI also takes into account the larger questions of social responsibility, to counterbalance the potential disruptions to human society.
