Bikas Pandey (Senior Journalist & Ethics Consultant)
All religions are called upon for the betterment of the common good and protection of our shared planet, home. This must come under each aspect of life, from the innovative tools that technology has created to a new life-giving one: artificial intelligence. With such great potential, AI needs to be designed and guided at its inception with the outset of common good. This is something in which each of us must take common responsibility. Out of this union we can really work together to make it worthwhile and contribute to our achieving a brighter future.
Ethics in AI for Global Peace
We are for peace above all else and call upon technology to usher in as a catalyst for unifying and reconciling nations among themselves. We declare and confirm that living and acting together is the only feasible course of action. AI is one transformative technology whose implications stretch across nations, sectors of operation, and even the very cultural values that human societies employ. Its benefits should benefit all humankind.
As AI continues to transform industries, communication, and decision-making worldwide, grave ethical concerns arise. In particular, the stakes are its impact on matters concerning global peace and human rights. Long overdue for conversation, the discussion on AI ethics has been contextual in age-old debates carried out through the ages by philosophical minds concerned with responsibility and the nature of action that conformed to ethical standards. This piece explores the directions taken by ancient and modern philosophical thought in search of a framework for ethical AI that promotes the well-being of all.
Philosophical Background
To understand the ethical issues involved in AI, one can draw from Aristotle's concept of virtue ethics as well as insights from contemporary philosopher Nick Bostrom's views on AI ethics.
1. Aristotle:
Aristotle in his text, Nicomachean Ethics, espouses the idea that ethics is a way of building up virtues, qualities which lead to a good life. These are proper virtues-and all action results from the fact that we both love and fear faculties of reason and more specifically fear something lakinous or defective but love something excellent and healthy. Virtuous people act according to reason and in moderation, avoiding extremes or defects, and finding a sense of the "golden mean." One may take this concept forward for AI and believe that AI systems need to be built as virtuous, balancing efficiency with responsibility and care for human welfare.
2. Nick Bostrom:
Amongst the key thinkers on AI ethics, Nick Bostrom was alarmist about the potential risks associated with superintelligent AI. He has voiced concerns about control-the problem of how best to ensure that AI systems are aligned with human values and do not pursue goals that might produce destructive outcomes. Bostrom believes that ethics guide the future of AI development where its power is used for good rather than harm..
Is technology dangerous?
- Unethical AI perpetuating historical bias and echoing hate speech may cause real dangers to society.
- If AI is to select candidates for any supervisory role then Women and marginalized communities hardly get in as AI would analyze centuries-old data, which would exclude these sections as they were discriminated against during that time.
Problems with AI:
AI rarely reflects the complexity of the diversity in our respective societies, and hence the output tends to be defined as biased or discriminatory.
There are problems being disclosed in facial recognition technologies, used to access our phones, our bank accounts, our apartments, and increasingly are being employed by law enforcement authorities, in identifying women and darker-skinned people.
While India and China together comprise approximately one-third of the world's population, Google Brain estimated that they only comprised 3% of images used in ImageNet, one of the most widely-used datasets.
Obviously, the right to privacy is endangered considering a possible unauthorized access to online activity data. But even for an off-line user − somebody who has deliberately chosen to stay 'disconnected'− the right to privacy remains endangered, similar to that of a disconnected user moving through a 'smart city'.
Indeed, if the business model of how these technologies are developed does not change to put human interests first, inequalities will grow.
Ethical Issues with AI:
Some of the key ethical concerns about AI are bias and discrimination-the possibility, in how these systems inadvertently reinforce biases present in the data they were trained on. This may mean unfair treatment of certain groups based on race, gender or socioeconomic status. Ensuring fairness by both algorithmic approach and critical evaluation of what is being assessed by these algorithms is very important to avoid perpetuating existing inequalities.
Privacy Concerns: AI significantly relies on substantial volumes of personal data to work effectively. This brings in very serious issues on the concerns of data collection, storage, and exploitation. Invasive data practices can cause serious breaches of privacy and the misuse of sensitive information.
It is the fear of which many will become concerned during the process of automation of tasks and processes of AI, especially in sectors of repetitive manual work. An ethical responsibility would be ensuring fair transition for the displaced workers through retraining and job creation.
Accountability and Transparency: AI systems are prone to being "black boxes," meaning that it's hard to trace back how exactly a particular decision is made. Transparency is also needed to hold accountable AI for its mistakes or harmful outcomes.
Autonomy and Control: The advent of super AI raises questions about losing control over decision-making, especially in sensitive domains, such as health care, law enforcement, or warfare. In that connection, ethical rules will be in place for humans to maintain control over decision-making.
Misinformation and Manipulation: AI tools can generate quite believable but false content, such as deep fakes or misleading information, and therefore contribute to the spread of misinformation. Safeguards must be built into AI so that it cannot be used for deceiving or manipulating the public.
Security Threats: AI systems are vulnerable to hacking, misuse, and cybersecurity threats, which could lead them to be put to malicious use and hence has serious security threats to the nation's security and financial system and critical infrastructure. Ergo, robust security is an ethical imperative.
Ethical Design and Use: AI will be applied from health to entertainment, so the core of designing an AI should include their ethical considerations. AI should thus be developed, right from its inception, for human benefit, fairness, and the greater good of society.
How these ethical considerations get approached is where policymakers, technologists, and society collaborate to make sure that the potential benefits of AI are not misused for individual selfish purposes.
Real-World Application:
For example, autonomous weapons systems are yet another case where AI ethics is very instrumental in international peace and vice versa. The system through AI guidance can make judgments with no human intervention; this calls for a lot of moral concern towards accountability in warfare.
Aristotle's virtue ethics would guide us to inquire whether such systems embody virtues such as prudence and justice. If AI in warfare brings about the unnecessary loss of many lives, it may not align with virtuous action.
Further, the fear that Bostrom has regarding control can practically be matched in real life with the example of an AI surveillance algorithm. For instance, while some places adopted facial recognition technology for surveillance, many raise concern over privacy rights and the tendency of governments to abuse their power.
Thus, AI will not contribute to oppression but be connected to peace as long as it is properly driven by ethics in design.
Recommendation on the Ethics of AI
UNESCO has made a seminal contribution to the goal of effective and ethical AI governance by adopting an International global standard – the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI – in 2021, and spearheading its implementation by the Member States through innovative tools and methodologies, such as the Readiness and the Ethical Impact Assessments.
However, ethical development of AI is crucial to moving toward the harnessing of these powerful technologies for global peace. A framework for responsible AI governance can be constructed based on philosophical understandings from Aristotle's virtue ethics and Bostrom's contemporary warnings regarding the risks of AI. This will ensure that AI embodies the values of justice, fairness, and accountability in its design, making it possible to upgrade technology from being a threat to global cooperation and peace.
Feel free to share your thoughts and insights on this topic. ๐
About the Author:
Bikas Pandey holds MA (Philosophy) and MJMC, bringing a wealth of expertise in Journalism and Mass Communication. With a deep commitment to ethical media practices, he has honed his skills across Print, TV, and Digital platforms. As an Ethics Consultant and Digital Product Business Strategist, Bikas excels in crafting content strategies that marry integrity with innovation. His bilingual proficiency further enhances his ability to navigate diverse media landscapes with impact.
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