AI Ethics: What It Is and Why It Matters

AI ethics in technological advancements can help foster a world with less bias and more fairness.

“basically high-tech plagiarism” is how Naom Chomsky, an American theoretical linguist and public intellectual describes Chat GPT. His strong voice echoes a sentiment shared by many in the field of AI ethics. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) gains prominence in society, the importance of ethical considerations becomes increasingly evident. AI ethics is not just a buzzword; it stands as a cornerstone for ensuring that AI technologies uphold fundamental values such as individual rights, privacy, non-discrimination, and non-manipulation.

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to build a world with bias and even more fairness, the need for a strong and applicable code of AI ethics is stronger now than ever before.  Companies and organizations leveraging data and artificial intelligence must navigate the ethical landscape responsibly, ensuring fair and equitable use of AI. 

If you are keen on learning how these technologies can benefit society while minimizing potential harms and disparities and want to learn more about adopting ethical considerations in AI development and deployment, this blog is for you. 

This blog sheds light on what the Ethical Use of AI is, why it matters, some of the challenges, and most importantly, the way forward. 

What Are AI Ethics?

AI ethics refers to the set of guiding principles and moral standards. These principles are the actions ensured when artificial intelligence technology is created and utilized. This entails biases, safety concerns, and privacy issues that occur in AI development and deployment. Practitioners should focus on elements like diversity in data collection, bias detection and mitigation, user safety measures, and transparency integration in AI systems to uphold AI ethics. These necessities adopt a strategic approach prioritizing security, safety and environmental sustainability.

Even corporate ethical codes and government-led regulatory frameworks play important roles in executing AI ethics. They foster AI innovation and deployment on a global and national scale. There are various discussions around the evolving AI ethics. 

However, the major tech corporations and governmental bodies are working to address ethical challenges and build regulatory frameworks. They are informed by academic research and societal considerations. For instance, Google’s AI Principles underscore the importance of fairness, accountability, and transparency. So, by following and implementing these policies, this technology can bring perks to society. 

Who Needs to Step Up?

The industry players are required to establish ethical principles for AI development and deployment. Business owners have to examine and determine the social, political, and economic complexities that coincide between machines and humans. Every industry actor plays a role in itself, guaranteeing less bias and risk for AI technologies.

• Academics: Ethical consideration is vital in academics. It helps professors and researchers gather information from all university and course-specific data.
• Non-profit Organizations: Utilize AI to streamline the segmentation process. Which results in boosting their fundraising efficiency and outcomes. 
• Private Companies: Many private companies have increased public regulation to ensure the ethical use of new technology. They are creating ethics teams and codes of conduct to address ethical concerns.
• Government: Government communities and societies are facilitating AI ethics and civil societies are discussing ‘AI Ethics and Governance’ to create safe use of AI and create an awareness of using AI while meeting regulatory requirements.
• Intergovernmental Entities: Globally, various entities are promoting awareness and creating agreements for AI ethics to promote dignity and human rights.

In a recent interview with The Express Tribune, a leading news outlet in Pakistan, Salman Lakhani, CEO of Cubix, and other local innovators shed light on the pressing need for stringent regulations to guide the ethical use of AI among country’s youth. They emphasized the importance of creating a responsible and ethical technology culture to enable local talents to fully utilize AI for remote earning through practical projects.

The entrepreneurs stressed that with AI rapidly expanding across all sectors, it is crucial to establish rules that guide its ethical use. They proposed a three-fold approach to address the misuse of AI by youth. Read the complete news story here. 

Why Ethics Matters in AI?

Ethics in AI are dominant for the healthy development of all AI-driven technologies. They are built to replace or raise human intelligence. However, the same issues can occur when technology is built to recreate human life. 

AI projects built on biased data can have harmful results. That is why adding a code of ethics while developing any AI technology is vital. If not, it will mitigate any future risks. You can have a look at the ethical real-life challenges of AI discussed below.

AI and Privacy

In the world we are living in today, data is the new oil. Many organizations, companies, etc, share online data daily. They also allow the consumers to get information and insights from their data. Yet, this also contains the private information that comes with privacy. In the context of AI, it relies on the data taken from the internet. This helps in engaging customer experience. But the question arises about the permission to use their personal data.

AI and Environment

According to Jensen, artificial intelligence (AI) applications can address environmental sustainability. These models and applications are large enough to need significant energy to train on data. Moreover, they can design energy-efficient buildings to track deforestation and optimize renewable energy implementation. 

AI and Copyright

Several instances of digital plagiarism have arisen due to AI-powered content generation tools. These tools generate digital content at a rapid pace that requires massive amounts of data from multiple unknown sources. This leads to the chances of copyright and data infringement and sometimes counts in high-profile violations.

AI and Workforce Displacement

AI seems to be a threat to human integrity. Labor and unemployment rates are increasing daily due to displacement with AI systems and software. They can perform tasks like writing, content generation, coding, and more. This leads to the fear of unemployment in the labor market, with wide occupations at risk.

“Striking a balance is crucial to prevent harm without hindering AI’s positive impact in sectors like education and healthcare.”

– Salman Lakhani – CEO Cubix

What Are We Doing to Prevent AI Apocalypse?

No government regulation of artificial general intelligence exists that requires more policy preparation and collaboration. Only around 400 people work globally on technical AI-related catastrophes, highlighting scarcity. Various firms have safety teams but focus on algorithmic fairness, not advanced algorithm threats. Various unanswered concerns about AI’s implications remain unexplored, necessitating further investigation. Thus, international collaboration or public-private partnerships are vital to addressing AI safety.

Cubix and Ethical AI Governance

Cubix was founded by Salman Lakhani in 2008, a pioneer of global digital transformation. It leverages emerging technologies to develop innovative solutions with offices worldwide using AI, AR, and blockchain. Cubix integrates cutting-edge AI capabilities. It focuses on accountability, transparency, and user benefit. The strict testing and oversight by technical experts and ethicists ensure compliance with regulations and societal impacts. We offer independent third-party audits and biannual ethics training.  This leads to ensuring fairness and transparency in AI implementations.

As AI grows increasingly pervasive across various applications, Lakhani’s Brainchild is committed to integrating these advanced capabilities through a lens of accountability, transparency, and user benefit. Cubix implements rigorous testing and review protocols to identify any issues before product releases. A dedicated oversight committee of technical experts and ethicists guides compliance with regulations and potential societal impacts. 

Through open collaboration with regulators and partners, Cubix is committed to sustaining benefits of technologies like chatbots and recommendation engines while avoiding unintended consequences. Training equips personnel with tools for developing human-centric products, cementing Salman Lakhani’s vision of uplifting humanity through innovation.

The Way Forward

The combination of ethical considerations in AI development and deployment is important for ensuring the technology’s positive impact on society. Industry players must coordinate to establish ethical principles and regulatory frameworks. This includes businesses, academics, non-profit organizations, private companies, governments, and intergovernmental entities. 

AI can bring societal benefits while mitigating risks. It includes bias, privacy infringement, environmental impact, copyright issues, and workforce displacement. It is possible by prioritizing fairness, accountability, and transparency. Thus, collaborative effort is coupled with ongoing education and awareness initiatives. This will shape the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies and foster innovation and safety in the future.

In the end, what is your company doing to ensure ethical AI practices and to promote responsible innovation?