The ethical puzzle of AI and the 9 big questions we can’t ignore:
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, from big data advertisement to large language models (ChatGPT) and visual generation (mid-journey), it is crucial to pause and consider the ethical implications of this technological revolution. Here are some ethical questions that AI raises, challenging us to reflect on the legitimacy of technology.
1. Bias and discrimination
How do we ensure AI systems don’t perpetuate or even exacerbate societal biases, given they’re trained on historical data that might be biased (e.g hate speech on internet)?
2. Privacy
With AI’s capability to analyze vast amounts of personal data, how do we protect individual privacy and ensure data is used ethically? Our personal data is included in the training set of AI without our consent, yet no other human has reviewed it; nevertheless, should AI be legitimate?
3. Surveillance
As AI enhances the capabilities of surveillance systems, what are the implications for personal freedom and privacy?
4. Autonomy
To what extent should we allow AI to make decisions on behalf of humans, especially in critical areas like healthcare, finance, and law enforcement? What impact does such renewed modes of decision making have on individuals?
5. Employment
Should AI replace human workers if they perform better than humans? If so, how should our society respond to the unemployed?
6. Security
How do we safeguard against the misuse of AI in creating sophisticated cyber-attacks or autonomous weapons?
7. Transparency
Can we ensure AI systems are transparent in their decision-making, so humans can understand and trust their actions?
8. Accountability:
When AI systems make mistakes, who is responsible—the company profiting, the users, or the AI itself?
9. Monitor
Who should have access to what information about the user? Government, private companies, or other AIs? For example, if some user searches “how to make a bomb”/”how to launch a terrorist attack”, is the company obliged to report to the government? However, if so, it grants the company the right to access what their users input into the LLMs, which is another violation of users’ privacy.
