Category: Ethics

THE GUARDIAN reports that a UNESCO study says smart speakers like Siri and Alexa should not use female voices by default. The study suggests the computer-simulated voices should be treated as ‘non-human,’ and that programming for digital assistants should discourage gender-based innuendo. The Guardian…

‘Alphabet likes to position itself as a leader in AI research, but it was six months behind rival Microsoft in warning investors about the technology’s ethical risks.’ WIRED reports that ethics is a risk management item at Alphabet and Microsoft. Both companies have included…

‘As the world acknowledges the inevitability of AI and ML, the conversation has, however, shifted to its ethics, with governments and lawmakers bringing out stringent policies regarding the applicability of the technology.’  ANALYTICS INDIA reports on uses of ethics guidelines at Google, Microsoft, Facebook,…

‘While the panellists agreed that it is impossible to have an ‘ethical AI’, they believe that ‘AI ethics’ is a discussion that we should constantly engage in.’ ASIAN SCIENTIST reports on a Singapore conference panel of industry and regulatory leaders considering questions of morality…

‘Chen (Xiaoping), professor and director of the Robotics Laboratory at the University of Science and Technology of China, said AI in China had developed to a point where ethical guidelines were now necessary to address potential risks in large-scale applications.’ THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING…

Ethical standards are likely to become as important at shaping global competition as technological standards have been since the 1980s. THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM suggests acceptance of AI systems depends on predictability and trust, in turn arising from robust ethical codes. Their analysis names…

‘We acknowledge that this area is dynamic and evolving, and we will approach our work with humility, a commitment to internal and external engagement, and a willingness to adapt our approach as we learn over time.’ Google has released seven ethically-guided principles for its…

‘Despite its name, there is nothing “artificial” about this technology — it is made by humans, intended to behave like humans and affects humans. So if we want it to play a positive role in tomorrow’s world, it must be guided by human concerns.’…

‘The idea is to train the next generation of technologists and policymakers to consider the ramifications of innovations — like autonomous weapons or self-driving cars — before those products go on sale.’ THE NEW YORK TIMES reports morality is becoming part of the curriculum…

IN THE GUARDIAN Paul Chadwick says journalists need to consider whether fundamental human values are met with AI-enabled journalism no differently than when all of it’s done by humans. He suggests newsroom codes should be updated in light of growing uses of AI tools….

THE ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING MACHINERY US PUBLIC POLICY COUNCIL provides a succinct review of algorithms and their potential for bias, amongst other consequences arising from their use. They provide seven principles intended to balance concerns and benefits. ‘The ubiquity of algorithms in our everyday…

Konstantin Nicholas Dörr and Katharina Hollnbuchner present a framework to identify and consider ethical issues when algorithms are used to generate news. AUTHORS Konstantin Nicholas Dörr, Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research, Media Change & Innovation Division, University of Zurich Katharina Hollnbuchner, Institute…