How Can AI Be Used Ethically?

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

     figure1:The Ethics of AI (Google.com)

Introduction

One of the most exciting technological advances in human history, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to drastically alter every aspect of our lives, from healthcare and education to finance and transportation(Haderaj, The ethics of AI: 2021).

But as we continue to integrate AI, ethical questions have surfaced that need to be addressed. It is not only morally required, but also necessary for a sustainable technological future to use AI responsibly.

Fundamentally, ethical AI is a collection of guidelines designed to make sure that the creation and application of AI systems give fairness, accountability, transparency, and societal benefits top priority. Fairness requires AI systems to be built with bias mitigation in mind, so that different groups of users are treated equally. For AI algorithms to be transparent, they must be comprehensible, allowing users to understand the reasoning behind the choices these systems make. Accountability requires that AI developers and users be held accountable for the results of their work and have procedures in place for redress in the event that unintentional harm occurs. Furthermore, ethical AI maintains that privacy is of utmost importance and promotes the security of personal information as well as the use of informed consent procedures. Lastly, the objective of ethical AI goes beyond personal benefit to include wider societal effects, seeking to use AI for the benefit of humanity as a whole(How can ai be used ethically? 2024).

The importance of ethical AI in our quest for technological advancement cannot be emphasized. First, a moral approach to AI acts as a safeguard against the persistence of prejudice and discrimination in society. There is a serious risk that existing inequalities will be strengthened and societal divisions will worsen if deliberate efforts are not made to address biases within AI systems. Consider the application of AI to hiring procedures. Unchecked, biased algorithms may consistently benefit some demographic groups while disadvantageously affecting others, resulting in systemic discrimination in job opportunities.

                       Sours : Using AI Ethically (You tube) 

Second, the development of trust and accountability in technology depends on ethical AI. Transparency becomes a must in a time when decision-making powered by AI is becoming more and more important. People need to be able to comprehend and critically evaluate the choices AI systems make, holding users and developers responsible for the results. Lack of transparency runs the risk of undermining public confidence in AI technologies and impeding their broad uptake.

Furthermore, in the digital age, protecting individual rights and privacy depends heavily on the ethical application of AI. The unrestrained spread of artificial intelligence presents serious risks to individual privacy since these algorithms mine enormous amounts of data in order to derive patterns and forecast outcomes. Robust safeguards are necessary to prevent severe privacy violations and violations of autonomy. Thus, in order to ensure that people maintain control over their personal information, an ethical approach to AI supports the adoption of strict data protection laws and informed consent procedures.

What are Artificial Intelligence Ethics?

The ethical ramifications of creating and utilizing AI systems are the focus of the field of artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. It is essentially a set of guiding principles that guarantee responsible development and application of AI technology.

* Preventing Bias: AI programs that have been trained on skewed data run the risk of sustaining prejudice. The goal of AI ethics is to reduce bias in AI development in order to guarantee equitable and just results.

* Protection of Privacy: Since AI systems frequently use enormous volumes of data, privacy issues are brought up. Responsible data collection and use is emphasized by AI ethics.

* Transparency and Explain ability: It's important to comprehend how AI technology makes decisions. Building understandable and transparent AI models is encouraged by AI ethics.

                                   figure2: What are AI Ethics? (Google.com)

Why are AI ethics important?

AI ethics are crucial because AI technology is intended to supplement or replace human intelligence. However, when technology is created to simulate human existence, it may become tainted by the same problems that can impair human judgment.

AI initiatives that are based on skewed or inaccurate data may have negative effects, especially on marginalized or underrepresented individuals and groups. Furthermore, it may become impossible for engineers and product managers to address learned biases if AI algorithms and machine learning models are developed too quickly. A code of ethics is simpler to implement during development to reduce potential hazards(GeeksforGeeks, Ai ethics : 2024).

What are the 5 Pillar of AI ethics? 

1. Fairness & Non-discrimination

Consider a machine learning tool for loan approvals. Instead of considering variables like color, gender, or zip code, it should ideally evaluate creditworthiness based on pertinent financial data. This pillar places a strong emphasis on creating AI that respects everyone equally and stays away from sustaining social biases.

2. Transparency

Envision a "black box" that indicates your employment eligibility without providing a reason. With AI, this lack of transparency is a big worry. Openness enables us to comprehend the decision-making process used by AI systems.

3. Data Protection

A common practice is to train AI systems with our personal data. This pillar highlights how crucial it is to handle data responsibly.

4. Explain ability

Transparency goes hand in hand with this pillar. It focuses on making AI decisions explicable to people who are impacted by them, not just in theory.

5. Human Autonomy & Control

Instead of replacing people, AI ought to be a tool that strengthens them. This pillar highlights the idea that humans ought to maintain control over AI systems and have the ability to overrule them when needed.

                                  figure3: What are AI Ethics? (Google.com)

Ethical challenges of AI

Numerous issues from everyday life can serve as examples of AI ethics. These are but a handful.

AI and bias :

AI's judgments may be biased if it doesn't gather data that fairly represents the population. When it came to its AI recruiting tool, which devalued resumes with references to "women" (like "Women's International Business Society"), Amazon faced criticism in 2018. Essentially, the AI tool put the tech giant in legal jeopardy and discriminated against women. 

AI and privacy :

AI is reliant on information gleaned from online searches, social media posts and comments, online transactions, and more, as was previously discussed with the Lensa AI example. Although this adds a personal touch to the customer experience, there are concerns about the companies' apparent lack of genuine consent to access our personal data. 

AI and the environment :

Certain AI models are big and need a lot of energy to train on data. While techniques for energy-efficient AI are being researched, more could be done to include environmental ethical concerns in AI-related policies.

How to create more ethical AI

Examining the moral implications of education, technology, and policy in detail is necessary to develop more moral AI. Regulations can make sure that technology advances society rather than impairing it. Governments everywhere are starting to impose guidelines for moral AI, including how businesses should handle legal concerns in the event that prejudice or other harm occurs.

Everybody who works with AI should be aware of the dangers and possible drawbacks of phony or unethical AI. These kinds of risks can be reduced by developing and making available resources.

Utilizing technology to identify unethical activity in other forms of technology may seem paradoxical, but artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be used to identify whether hate speech on Facebook, for example, or other types of audio, video, or text is real or fake. More accurately and quickly than people, these instruments can identify biased and unethical data sources.

Conclusion

To sum up, ethical AI is both a practical requirement and a moral requirement in our pursuit of a responsible technological future. We can use AI to our advantage while preserving human rights and dignity by upholding the values of justice, accountability, openness, and societal benefit. In spite of the obstacles and objections that come with implementing ethical AI, it is still possible and necessary to work toward a more just and equitable technological environment. As we approach the dawn of a new era characterized by artificial intelligence, let us move forward with unwavering adherence to moral standards, making sure that technology benefits humanity in a way that is both morally and empowering.

Reference 

GeeksforGeeks (2024) Ai ethics : Challenges, importance, and future, GeeksforGeeks. Available at: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/ai-ethics/ (Accessed: 10 August 2024).

 Haderaj, E. (2021) The ethics of AI: What makes ‘ethical ai’ and what are its challenges?, LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ethics-ai-what-makes-ethical-its-challenges-erid-haderaj/ (Accessed: 10 August 2024).

(No date) Internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Available at: https://iep.utm.edu/ethics-of-artificial-intelligence/ (Accessed: 10 August 2024).

Parsons, L. (2024) Ethical concerns mount as AI takes bigger decision-making role, Harvard Gazette. Available at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/ethical-concerns-mount-as-ai-takes-bigger-decision-making-role/ (Accessed: 10 August 2024).

How can ai be used ethically? (no date) kidspiritonline.com. Available at: https://www.kidspiritonline.com/magazine/ai-and-the-future-of-knowledge/how-can-ai-be-used-ethically?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw_Na1BhAlEiwAM-dm7Hs2kAO5tWdX5ocGs1CCdhfH1D_4iD8gN4pXF7w_ (Accessed: 10 August 2024).