Considering AI Ethics @End of 2021

AI and it’s subset machine learning (ML) are being integrated into digital systems at an ever-increasing rate.?For most organizations, the purpose of AI is to either enhance human decision making or make independent decisions that have economic consequences. As a result, the question of the ethics of these systems is one that naturally arises.

Paraphrasing and summarizing several corporate statements on ethical and/or responsible AI these tend to read along the following lines:

·?????Create Value

·?????Be Un-Biased

·?????Be Safe & Secure

·?????Respect Privacy

·?????Be Accountable & Explainable & Transparent

It is important to keep in mind that human decision making does not always live up to the standards articulated above so the realistic goal for AI is to continuously improve decision making’s adherence to these standards. The societal problem this creates is there is less outrage when a human varies from these standards as when a machine does.

There is something primal that triggers within us when a complex, large system that is not well understood mistreats you. While, we might get annoyed, frustrated, angry and even outraged at another person who mistreats us – it is a different feeling.

Add to this the fact that there is not a universally agreed upon human ethical system. ?Even within a single country there are significant differences on social issues based on people having different ethical perspectives. Ethical systems in a region are generally derived from the dominant historical religious beliefs in that area. A straight-forward example would be that a person who grew up in China, India or the United States would derive their ethics from a different starting point and will most likely have differing perspectives.

One can argue that these differences should be manageable within the high level outline ?provided above as to the guidelines for ethical and responsible AI. ?However when you get into the details of implementation in different subject areas it gets more complicated. For example, AI is not only used to influence our purchase decisions; it is used to influence our political decision-making process as well.

In other words, AI is a tool that may be used by the “forces of good” or the “forces of chaos”. ?As a world in which we are moving to a 24/7/365 real-time connected world there is no choice other than to leverage AI – our world as we know it today is not sustainable without it. However, the world is a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) ?place. Any tool whether useful at a very tactical level (say an Axe or a Hammer) to something as powerful as an advanced AI system can be used to create a virtuous economic cycle of enlightened self-interest as envisioned by Adam Smith (author of Wealth of Nations) or it can be used to enact crimes and/or unethical behavior.

With an eye to the future it is wise to note that ethical systems are not static. They are complex systems as are powerful AI systems and as such even if ethical and responsible AI is implemented today, it will require continuous attention to keep up with the changing societal and technology landscape.

Some folks believe that as Quantum Computing becomes more available it’s power will improve the probability of being able to implement ethical AI in a broader way. Quantum Computing is an evolution of the technological infrastructure that has enabled the widespread adoption and deployment of AI and will be a tool for both negative and powerful purposes. While quantum computing is based on science that goes well beyond Sir Issac Newton’s work. In our day-to-day lives it is always important to remember Newton’s Third Law : for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.?