13.9.The Future: A Cautionary Approach?
As outlined in this chapter, applications of AI and other emerging technologies are increasing rapidly. However, the advancement of these technologies also raises questions with respect to governance and regulations regarding their development. Concerns over ethical and privacy issues, along with military development, are among the issues to consider. Remember from chapter 9, ethics means a set of moral principles. There are several events that reiterate just how easy it is to exploit AI for unethical uses.
Example: AI and Privacy
Examples like the breaking of privacy laws by Google’s DeepMind and the failure to protect Facebook users’ personal data in the Facebook – Cambridge Analytica scandal generated a lot of concern about the use of AI. In both of these examples, the data stored by the AI in DeepMind and Facebook was released to third-party users without the patients’ (DeepMind) or Facebook users’ knowledge or consent (Sinha, 2022).
Example: ChatGPT and Ethical Implications
ChatGPT is a conversational chatbot that was launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It can be used to produce written work as well as write code by responding to prompts or instructions. Following its release, news articles proliferated criticizing the tool over the ethical concerns of its use. Some concerns shared include the increased risk of misinformation, the ability to perpetuate bias, and the ability to impersonate individuals (Steinbeck, 2023, JJanuary 8. Academic institutions across the world expressed their concerns about the use of the tool for cheating. Some schools have even banned its use (Wood & Kelly, 2023, JJanuary 26.
However, despite the setbacks, AI appears to be an exponentially growing field. Today, because of the Internet of Things, data volumes have significantly increased since almost every device we use has the ability to gather and store data, such as pedometers on our phones, thermostats, and voice assistants like Alexa or Siri. To keep up with these large amounts of data, AI has been upgraded to increase processing speeds and computational capacity. Nowadays, AI systems are much more efficient, widely available, and easily accessible in contrast to their earlier developmental stages. With the rapid growth in the development of AI, it is important to consider the ethical implications of its use.
Ethical Implications of AI
Quiz Text Description
- Developing the Terms and Conditions for an app.
- Choosing a dataset to use when training an AI
- Making use of deep learning to improve AI.
- Using personal data of users to make better recommendations for them and improve their experience online.
- Deciding whether to use supervised or unsupervised learning to train an AI.
- Training an AI to classify images.
- Using robots in the workforce.
- Using AI for voice overs in video games.
- Using AI to make decisions about credit card loans.
- Looking up restaurants on Google Maps.
- a. Developing the Terms and Conditions for an app.; b. Choosing a dataset to use when training an AI; c. Making use of deep learning to improve AI.; d. Using personal data of users to make better recommendations for them and improve their experience online.; e. Deciding whether to use supervised or unsupervised learning to train an AI.; f. Training an AI to classify images.; g. Using robots in the workforce.; h. Using AI for voice overs in video games.; i. Using AI to make decisions about credit card loans.; j. Looking up restaurants on Google Maps.;
“Module 1: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” & “Module 5 Societal and Ethical Impacts of AI” from Thriving in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Ontario Tech University under a Creative Commons Attribution license, unless otherwise noted.
