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The Ethical Dimensions of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Elif Selenay Baş Bilgiç
- Sep 19, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: May 22
Author:
Elif Selenay Baş Bilgiç - Associate Editor at iGlobal.Lawyer & Lawyer
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made staggering leaps in recent years, catalyzing efficiency and innovation; however, its widespread and rapid adoption has given way to mounting gaps in governance and legislation, as well as substantial ethical concerns.
The ethical issues surrounding AI range from a lack of privacy and the erosion of individual autonomy to its potential applications in military contexts.
Below, we will endeavor to address some of these concerns.
The Ethical Dimensions of AI
1. AI: For Whose Benefit?
AI technologies are primarily developed and utilized in economically advanced countries; this, along with contributing to the digital divide, places vulnerable and marginalized communities worldwide at a significant disadvantage.
Furthermore, the threat of mass unemployment resulting from AI adoption, especially in sectors susceptible to automation, could exacerbate income inequality. Although automation has historically led to job creation in the long term, the transition poses significant risks to fragile groups, including young people, women, minorities, and low-skilled workers.
The environmental harms associated with AI development also tie into deepening inequalities. The increased extraction of natural resources, energy consumption, pollution, and waste generation impact the Global South more severely. Women, in particular, are disparately affected due to their roles in resource-dependent livelihoods.
2. AI: Who Pays the Price?
Since AI systems are developed by humans and trained on data that may mirror societal biases, they can lead to the perpetuation and even amplification of discriminatory and unfair practices.
Numerous instances of this have been reported in fields such as recruitment, credit scoring, and judicial sentencing. Moreover, the 'black box' nature of AI further complicates matters, making it difficult to evaluate their decision-making processes and presenting significant legal challenges.
For instance, if a self-driving car fails to stop and hits an individual, who should be held accountable: the car manufacturer, the programmers, the passenger, the owner, or the system itself? Would the answer to this question differ for AI systems capable of learning and adapting their behavior?
3. AI: Do We No Longer Have Autonomy?
It is no secret that AI has concentrated power and undue influence in the hands of a few mega-corporations.
The constant surveillance and processing of our data—often without informed and proper consent—by governments and profit-driven tech giants vastly undermine individual autonomy, privacy, and democracy.
Sensitive information, such as personality traits and political beliefs, is revealed through these processes and is consequently used to ‘nudge’ us to think and act in certain ways.
As Evelyn Mary Aswad notes in her article “Losing the Freedom to Be Human,” published in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, “[…] in its overview of Google’s and Facebook’s immense data troves, Amnesty International highlighted that the collected data is primarily used to deliver targeted advertising and maximize user engagement. The report emphasized that ‘as each individual engages with their own highly personalized experience of the internet, uniquely tailored to them based on algorithmically driven inferences and profiling,’ society faces a ‘door wide open to abuse by manipulating people at scale.’”
In an economy where wealth is predominantly derived from surveillance, is it possible to reclaim and protect our privacy and autonomy?
4. AI: What Does It Mean to Be Human?
Beneath the countless concerns surrounding AI’s impact on our creativity, emotional capacity, and cognitive and physical skills lie inquiries into what it means to be human. Traits such as language, reason, rationality, and creativity have always been emphasized when defining human characteristics. In an age where the devices in our pockets are increasingly outshining us in all these qualities, existential questions about our role in and contributions to society have become more pressing.
Through the increased use of AI in our daily tasks, are we becoming less competent? Are we losing the ability to think and act for ourselves, and thus our agency?
Another concern is the risk of individuals dedicating less effort to maintaining human relationships and preferring to interact with ‘perfect’ robots instead of complex and spontaneous interpersonal dynamics. Furthermore, as AI systems take on more human-like tasks, granting them legal or moral status becomes a more plausible consideration.
How will habitual interactions with machines that mimic human behavior impact real human relationships and the fabric of our society?
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, in addition to a plethora of concerns, AI presents many advantages. It offers enhanced prosperity, well-being, and efficiency, which can improve quality of life and facilitate human flourishing.
To ensure that AI empowers us to move towards brighter futures, we must recognize that innovation and AI do not lead to inevitable outcomes.
AI introduces revolutionary opportunities, provided we commit to prioritizing inclusivity, fairness, privacy, transparency, and accountability in its governance while harnessing its strengths to uphold Human Rights and tackle global challenges.
Bibliography
Aswad, E. M., 2020. “Losing the Freedom to Be Human.” Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 52(1), pp. 306-366.
EU-STOA / Panel for the Future of Science and Technology, 2020. "The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: Issues and Initiatives". Brussels.
Stahl, B. C., 2021. "Artificial Intelligence for a Better Future: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Ethics of AI and Emerging Digital Technologies". Leicester, UK.
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