Author: N/A
Publisher: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Publication Year: 2020
Summary: In the following article, Dr. Müller at Stanford discusses why artificial intelligence (AI) system scandals are covered differently in the media. For a problem to qualify as a problem for AI ethics would require that we do not readily know what the right thing to do is. In this sense, job loss, theft, or killing with AI is not a problem in ethics, but whether these are permissible under certain circumstances is a problem. This article focuses on the genuine problems of ethics where we do not readily know what the answers are. The ethical issues of AI in surveillance go beyond the accumulation of data: They include the use of information to manipulate behavior, online and offline, in a way that undermines autonomous rational choice. Of course, efforts to manipulate behavior are never going away, but they may gain potency when AI systems are used. Given intense interaction with data systems (Instagram, Twitter) and the deep knowledge about individuals this provides, they are vulnerable to “nudges,” manipulation, and deception. With sufficient prior data, algorithms can be used to target individuals or small groups with just the kind of input that is likely to influence these particular individuals. Marketers and political campaigns now have a reputation for trying to influence people in ways they would have never been influenced before AI systems were in place. To ensure the reduction of harm going forward, it is important to have an established code of ethics in place that is enforced by investor cash flow. Unethical companies should not be receiving investments.