Artifact 3

Artifact 3 is from HUMN 551, Evolution of Life and Intelligence, and is called “Ethics and Emergent Technologies.” The excerpt is from the beginning of my paper and covers the ethics of AI. In addition to AI, I examine two other emergent technologies; genomics (the study of a person’s genes) and nanotechnology (the study of really tiny objects). I also discuss the ethics surrounding these technologies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes many forms, all designed to make jobs easier for users. While some people use AI for immoral purposes, it still has many legal and ethical uses. AI has the potential to be a huge benefit to humanity. It can offer one instantaneous summarized information and write an essay. One can have whole conversations with AI, both teaching and learning from it. But is it ethical? “In the context of AI, the ethics of AI specifies the moral obligations and duties of an AI and its creators” (Siau and Wang 75). One could say the moral obligations and duties of its users as well. For example, if a student writes an essay using AI instead of their own words, is it ethical? Does the student even learn anything? Human ethics has been researched and discussed for a very long time, and many people have created ethical frameworks. Siau and Wang quote one from Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale, consisting of three questions: “is it legal? Is it fair? How does it make me feel?” (76). The legality of AI is on record. A student using AI to write their essay may decide it is only fair to do so, perhaps rationalizing “everyone is doing it,” which is close to being true. As a result, they may ignore the last question, “how does it make me feel?”

There are two parts to AI ethics: the ethics of AI and ethical AI. Siau and Wang further divide the ethics of AI into machine ethics and robot ethics; “Machine ethics deals with the behaviors of Artificial Moral Agents (AMAs), which is the field of research addressing the design of artificial moral agents” (76). Robot ethics has to do with the humans who design and create AI agents or robots. It also has to do with how robots are treated if they ever attain consciousness. Siau and Wang quote the still-relevant Laws of Robotics created by Isaac Asimov in the 1950s: “First Law, a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law, a robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except when such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law, a robot must protect its existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law” (76). Modern books and movies regularly test these ethical frameworks. Karel Čapek’s play, Rossum’s Universal Robots would have turned out differently had the Three Laws of Robotics been applied (the play is about a robot factory where the robots become sentient and take over the world, killing most humans).

Ethical AI is a major concern. Many crimes have been committed using AI, like hacking and deepfake (Siau and Wang 77). These are far more serious than a student “writing” with AI. The potential for damage and human rights abuse is real. Things like “privacy, freedom of association, freedom of speech, right to work, nondiscrimination, and access to public services, should always be put in the first place” (77). The potential for discrimination, both in the criminal justice system and in job searching, is real. With regards to jobs, “automation has resulted in job loss and job displacement in certain industries and the rapid advancement in AI would accelerate this trend” (77).

So, how does one address these issues? Companies/organizations need to come up with frameworks or guidelines in the use of AI (Siau and Wang 77). Certainly, it will not be an easy task. Fortunately, there are many companies working to build ethical AI, like Google, Microsoft, and IBM. For example, “in November 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), together with Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, launched the FEAT principles (i.e., fairness, ethics, accountability, and transparency) for the use of AI” (83). This framework could assist in formalizing and establishing ethical AI around the world. Self-regulation by users can play an important part as well. People need education in using AI ethically, in addition to the laws and regulations already in place. AI itself needs to be trained to be ethical. As Siau and Wang concluded, “while attempting to formulate the ethics of AI to enable the development of ethical AI, we will also understand human ethics better, improve the existing ethical principles, and enhance our interactions with AI agents in this AI age” (84). The future with AI can be a bright one if everyone takes responsibility.

Works Cited

Courtright-Lim, Amanda, and Mary Drago. “Ethics of Genomic Technologies in Medicine.” Medicine, vol. 53, issue 7, July 2024, pp. 444-449. ScienceDirect, https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/science/article/pii/S1357303924000847.

Genome.gov. Definition of genomics. https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/A-Brief-Guide-to-Genomics.

Genomicscience.energy.gov. “Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues.” https://doe-humangenomeproject.ornl.gov/ethical-legal-and-social-issues/.

Gupta, N., et al. "Ethics, Risk and Benefits Associated with Different Applications of Nanotechnology: A Comparison of Expert and Consumer Perceptions of Drivers of Societal Acceptance." Nanoethics, vol. 9, no. 2, 2015, pp. 93-108. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fethics-risk-benefits-associated-with-different%2Fdocview%2F1703894364%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8289, doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-015-0222-5.

Nano.gov. “About Nanotechnology.” https://www.nano.gov/about-nanotechnology.

Siau, Keng, and Weiyu Wang. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics: Ethics of AI and Ethical AI." Journal of Database Management, vol. 31, no. 2, 2020, pp. 74-87. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fartificial-intelligence-ai-ethics-ethical%2Fdocview%2F2954642413%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8289, doi:https://doi.org/10.4018/JDM.2020040105.

Twibell, Andrei. Nanolaw Ethics : A Janus Approach with Contemporary Human Rights, Ethics International Press Limited, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apus/detail.action?docID=31290015.