The applications of technology and artificial intelligence are infinite. The world of AI is expanding rapidly. AI is a technology that mimics human actions and intelligence. This technology is playing a key role in reducing the burden on humans and making life easy and convenient for them. Organizations are looking out for new capabilities in technology and artificial intelligence. However, despite the advancements, there are question marks over whether technology and ethics can go hand in hand?
Many researchers around the world are keeping a close watch on the potential risks associated with artificial intelligence. A major risk associated with AI is the ethical issue.
Here are some of the questions associated with the ethical impact of technology raised by researchers.
- Is the AI system delivering the correct information?
- Is it causing any hardship to society or humanity?
- Is it delivering the truth?
- Is the AI system respecting human virtues?
- Is the system unbiased and not discriminating?
If engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs reexamine the way technology and artificial intelligence are being designed, there is tremendous scope for using AI for social good by building an ethical society.
Ethical challenges with technology and artificial intelligence are social
The challenges associated with AI and technology are not intrinsically associated with the technology itself. However, the challenge with AI ethics is more of a social issue. Hence, AI as a technology could be employed to encourage users and assist in the creation of a more ethical and socially responsible society.
What is the need for AI ethics?
- Data is becoming more accessible to businesses and is continuously growing at a fast pace.
- The combination of AI and data helps organizations gain valuable insights through patterns, enabling them to make decisions.
- However, there have been certain risks associated with technology and ethics.
- The ethical risks and fears related to AI technology are real and cannot be overlooked.
- Hence, there is a need to focus on AI ethics.
- When humans interact with machines powered by AI, it may have certain psychological and emotional effects.
- This may include uncertainty, anxiety, and damage to self-respect, and positive self-image.
- AI ethics would mean that technology and artificial intelligence should respect human values and follow a human-centric approach.
- The design of the AI system must be guided by the feelings and well-being of a customer.
- It must take into consideration physical, mental, and social well-being.
Technology and ethics
Technology needs to have certain principles in order to create a better future for humanity. It needs to respect and promote human rights and values.
Some of the examples of the ethics of technology are:
Privacy
- Technology must respect an individual’s privacy when it comes to data collection, analysis, sharing, and interpretation.
- Privacy should be at the top-priority list for any technology.
- Privacy can be protected by limiting access and permissions to the data.
Security
Security is of paramount importance for protecting the psychological, emotional, digital, intellectual, and physical safety of an individual.
Accountability
Transparency is crucial for the accountability of technological decisions.
Freedom
Technology must not pose a threat to freedom and quality of life.
Well-being of humans
Technology must be deployed to serve humanity and ensure the well-being of humans.
Fairness
- Throughout their lifecycle, the AI system should not make a biased decision or exercise unfair discrimination against individuals, communities, or groups.
- The AI system created should be ethically sound.
- It must not discriminate unfairly against individuals or specific groups in society.
Safety and reliability
The AI system that has been designed must work for the purpose for which it has been created. Reliability in the system will help limit the chances of any unforeseen event happening.
Is AI free of bias?
- There have been several AI applications that have different behaviors towards different communities.
- This means that the AI application will give preference to a certain community based on gender, race, or age.
- This shows that in certain cases, AI is biased.
- AI bias can lead to damaging stereotypes, thus putting minorities, women, and social communities at risk.
- The biases shown by Apple Card algorithms is the most high-profile case of AI bias that discriminates against women while assigning credit limits.
- Compared to men, the Apple Card offers a lower credit limit to women. This means that the Apple card is biased toward men.
- Analyzing and finding out where the bias originated in the system is important.
In addition to AI bias, technologies like AI face other challenges as well. These include facial recognition errors and deepfakes, which spread a lot of misinformation and facilitate cybercrimes.
The various principles and aspects of technology and ethics that organizations and governments need to focus on
- Privacy of personal (private) information
- Sustainability
- Trust and dignity
- Fairness (non-bias) and justice
- Transparency
- Integrity
- Responsibility
- Solidarity
The correlation between technology and ethics
In order to build a more inclusive, integrated, and cooperative society for people to live in, technology and ethics may be major barriers. However, they also have tremendous potential to be useful in the process.
- Based on how people interact with technology and ethics, a more closely-knit society can be promoted.
- Digital learning tools and online education have become quite popular. However, there are some students who feel ignored.
- However, technology can be effectively used to foster a sense of community and cooperation among students.
- For example, instead of having an AI powered system that automatically checks the math problems solved by students, the system can be designed to send a message to another student from the same class to help his/her fellow students understand how the math problem was solved by us.
- Following this approach would mean more interaction with each other to promote cooperation.
- In addition to encouraging cooperation and community, technology must have a positive ethical impact on individual users and society in order to make the world a better place to live for everyone.
- Both technology and artificial intelligence should be considered as opportunities to promote practices and interactions in society that are aligned with ethical principles.
It is crucial to focus on the various guidelines of AI ethics in order to create an ethical society powered by AI.
Keeping in mind the fast-paced world with several advancements taking place in technology, there needs to be an in-depth study and exploration of technology and ethics. This would help discover how technology can play a key role in moving society towards a more ethical future.