Artificial Intelligence, Ethically Speaking

mark simmonds
Jul 24, 2017 · 7 min read
Wikimedia Commons license

“I’m Sorry Dave — I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Many readers will recognize that line from Stanley Kubrick’s “2001 — A Space Odyssey” a film in which the onboard computer, a HAL 9000, perceives an astronaut to be a threat to its “existence” and refuses to open the airlock to allow the crew member back into the ship. Other films like “Ex-Machina”, “i-Robot”, “Terminator” sow similar fears of Artificial Intelligence systems with cognitive capabilities taking control from humans, rendering us defenseless. Of course, there are also films that focus of on the positive aspects of AI such as “Bicentennial Man”.

My view is that AI systems are increasingly necessary to augment what we do in our everyday lives — whether that means…

… turning devices on or off, intelligently learning when and where to do so,

… repeating mundane tasks,

… giving us additional insights into human existence, or

… guiding us toward better decisions

… and beyond.

So, why all the fear? Partly because there is so much misinformation and hype — and some people just like to sell fear, uncertainly and doubt (F.U.D.). And it’s true that there will always be people who seek to exploit technology to do bad things — the dark side v the light side (Star Wars fans). Nonetheless, hype is a valuable part of the technology lifecycle. It allows us to consider use cases (sometimes extreme) that were not initially considered relevant.

What’s clear is that machine learning in all its forms is here to stay. It has established its place in the world and particularly in business — from detecting and identifying trends and patterns faster and more often than humans alone could ever achieve (while learning and become progressively smarter as they go) — to helping predict outcomes and taking action to prevent fraud — to slashing the time it takes to design advanced cancer treatment programs and health programs (see figure 1) — to anticipating terror attacks — to recognizing business opportunities that might last only a moment — to ridding processes of personal bias and prejudice. I believe that machine learning and AI systems have the potential to make our world a safer and better place.

Figure 1 : Healthcare embraces AI and machine learning

Even so, the ethical side of machine learning is increasingly called into question. The potential of machine learning and its application to all things AI means we need rules and controls — not to prevent progress but to help manage and control how and when progress occurs.

Let’s walk through some scenarios.

Machine Learning app envy

Ending life vs. Saving life

Non-human life forms

Conscience and Compassion

Big Religion

Spanning cultural divides and value systems

We are One

Responsibility v Accountability

Finally, we could ask whether it’s ethical for AI systems to design and implement their own set of ethics? I guess my answer would be yes — provided humans remain involved and a can override any final outcomes where decisions involving human life and welfare are concerned.

Summary

For more information on AI, cognitive computing and IBM research click here.

Inside Machine learning

Deep-dive articles about machine learning and data. Curated by IBM Data and AI.

mark simmonds

Written by

Program Director, IBM Analytics Development, Snowboarder and Archer.

Inside Machine learning

Deep-dive articles about machine learning and data. Curated by IBM Data and AI.

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