Tackling the ethical challenges of AI

Standards can align AI with ethical constraints, writes Michael Mullane

The IEC General Secretary, Frans Vreeswijk, has warned about the ethical and moral challenges arising from the fast pace of technological advancement, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). “Not everything that can be accomplished with technology should be undertaken,” he said.

OCEANIS brings together standardization organizations from around the world. It aims to enhance understanding about the role of Standards in facilitating innovation and addressing issues related to ethics and values.

Mr. Stiglitz, a former chief economist at the World Bank, believes that AI has the power to be a force for good, transforming the way that we live and work. He warns, though, that in order to benefit we must first address issues related to ethics and values.

Mr. Stiglitz told his audience at the British Royal Society that AI had the potential to increase productivity, reduce poverty and boost affluence. The danger is that it could equally make people worse off, if we make the wrong choices.

Mr. Stiglitz called for investment in AI that helps people to do their jobs more efficiently, rather than in AI that replaces workers.

A recent study in a London eye hospital illustrates his point. The study found that a machine was able to detect more than 50 eye conditions without missing a single urgent case.

The 95% accuracy rate matched the performance of leading eye specialists. Theoretically, it could eventually free up specialists to perform other duties, but it could also lead to cost cutting, or doctors being laid off.

Mr. Stiglitz believes it is inevitable that some low-skilled jobs will be lost. For example, self-driving vehicles, cashier-less supermarkets and AI-equipped call centres are likely to have a massive impact on unemployment, but this could be countered by hiring more unskilled workers to meet the strong demand in education, the health service and care for the elderly, he claims.

Many of Mr. Stiglitz’s concerns centre around the big data economy and the way the information collected about us online could be used to sell products for higher profits, instead of investing in R&D to improve quality. His fear is that tech corporations may find it easier, cheaper and faster to boost profits by exploiting insights into the behaviour and values of customers.

Mr. Hariri predicts that algorithms will soon know us better than we know ourselves. E-commerce sites, search engines and social media platforms already collect information about our preferences, activities, beliefs and intentions.

AI will refine and accelerate the process. Mr. Hariri warns that not only could all this data be used for manipulative ends, but also that people might become willing and passive victims as they rely increasingly on AI to make decisions for them.

Some of the issues that Mr. Stiglitz and Mr. Hariri flag are political as much as they are philosophical, while others concern futuristic AI systems that do not yet exist. What OCEANIS offers is the opportunity to begin work on developing global solutions to tackle some of the more immediate concerns.

International Standards can ensure that AI systems are designed to be in line with ethical and social constraints. In order to avoid potentially dramatic consequences, it is vital that machines continue to follow human logic and values as they replace humans in some decision-making processes.

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