Ethical issues of Using Artificial Intelligence

History

Artificial intelligence dates to history somewhere throughout 1700s. However, the idea was Artificial intelligence was just based on theory and imagination. Mostly, the philosopher thought about the different possibility of machines and technology that could perform autonomous task and how they are mechanized. Such prediction and theory of philosopher and logician helped today’s scientist to bring such theory by designing machines to perform such task. The outcome was the digital computer which could be programmed and operated as desired. However, the very first computer was very primitive, “the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC) in the 1940s. This specific invention inspired scientists to move forward with the idea of creating an “electronic brain,” or an artificially intelligent being” (cite). This computer only performed binary form storage and addition and subtraction related task.

“Alan Turing, a mathematician among other things, proposed a test that measured a machine’s ability to replicate human actions to a degree that was indistinguishable from human behavior” (cite).

1950s was the most crucial point for the direction of AI into modernization. Scientist, engineers, and logician together worked to bring this technology into reality was we can see in present decade. In a paper Computing machinery and Intelligence Alan turning mentions about the possibility of Artifical intelligence and ask question why artificial intelligence can’t do the same thing as humans?

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Introduction

Technology is reshaping and revolutionizing every aspect of life in the last few decades, and this journey is more likely to continue with more transformation and changes in the nearby future. Keeping this fact in view, it is imperative to accept that the use of artificial intelligence is getting common with time, and its efficacy is proving significant in a variety of ways. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has helped so many businesses and industries by bringing great revolution to different processes such as research arena, art, design, detection of fraud, as well as optimization of businesses in terms of supply chain and logistics. There is no doubt that artificial intelligence systems are becoming more efficient over time, and things are looking great while looking ahead in the future. These systems are gaining more efficiency and capability, and big giants of the technology world are making things happen by putting their efforts to bring an advanced version of artificial intelligence (Tai, 2020). 

The dynamics of artificial intelligence are changing, and this landscape is offering so many opportunities for businesses to explore. However, regardless of all the buzz and success achieved by artificial intelligence, some questions mark on AI are looming around, which are related to the ethical issues connected with artificial intelligence. This paper will focus on and discuss a range of ethical issues linked with the use of artificial intelligence to see where the actual problem lies, and what could be the future course of action in this regard. It would help to understand why these ethical issues are developing, and what stakeholders should do to deal with the situation (Stahl, 2021). 

Ethical Issues Linked with the Use of Artificial Intelligence

It is vital to understand that when a technology is developed and used in real-world scenarios, it is obvious to experience both advantages and disadvantages of the technology. The fact of the matter is that artificial intelligence is also a kind of technology, which has great advantages, but at the same time, it also has so many issues to deal with. There is no argument on this fact that artificial intelligence would gain more space in the lives of common people, as well as continue to transform businesses and industries to a future, which would have more benefits and efficacy to enjoy for the investors. However, the one issue that is going to be the center of attention in this progress, and problem is the ethical issues faced by using artificial intelligence. It is extremely critical to look at some of the most crucial ethical issues to understand the problem so that relevant solutions can be found for a better future for artificial intelligence (Stahl, 2021). 

Privacy and Security

It is a fact that when technology is reviewed with all its elements and effects, one of the major parts of the discussion is the privacy and security issues related to technology. The same is the case with artificial intelligence. When artificial intelligence systems are used in a range of applications, they come up with so many advantages. However, when there are various good reasons to talk about this technology, one must understand that there is a dark side to this technology too. The privacy and security concern are one of the primary ethical issues linked with the use of artificial intelligence. It has been observed that when AI systems are used, they can be manipulated, and maliciously used to breach data or attack the privacy of the users (Zhang, Wu, Tian, & Zhang, 2021). It is a well-known fact that cybersecurity is a hot topic to discuss in the most recent times, and similar issues are also experienced with the use of artificial intelligence. It must be understood that what information should be collected and monitored with regards to consumers, and what information should be sent to them; such things are ethical issues, and data collected and compiled through AI is not taking care of this ethical element. Businesses want to collect and analyze real-time data so that they can get real-time analytics to make immediate business decisions. However, this urge of businesses along with the use of AI is problematic in terms of breaching the personal space and privacy of consumers and internet users (Teich, 2020). 

Pervasive Surveillance and Deceiving Consumers by Manipulating their Behavior

The companies are aggressively looking to get more data from their consumers so that they can identify patterns of their behavior and do pervasive surveillance to dig out the real interests shown by the customers in their purchase decisions. The companies are looking to do this because they want to collect as much information as possible, which allows them to have constant surveillance of the consumers. The issue is not surveillance itself, but the ethical issue is that this kind of surveillance is done without notifying consumers. This unwanted and pervasive surveillance is keeping an eye on the customer behavior so that they can be targeted with the relevant information. So, consumers are not aware of this surveillance most of the time, and they share personal information with companies, who use this information to influence and manipulate the behavior of consumers. It is done to force consumers to make purchase decisions, which are more favorable for the businesses. It is a fact that algorithms of the AI can use prior data to make considerable predictions about the purchase behavior of the consumers, and then targeting them with relevant ads to boost sales. This ethical issue would remain debatable to see if companies and businesses do show a responsible and ethical behavior in terms of using customer data without any kind of pervasive surveillance, and they will also not try to manipulate the behavior of customers by using confidential information (Walch, 2019). 

Use of Robots and Unemployment

The use of artificial intelligence is bringing automation in different sectors and industries, which is putting humans at risk in terms of employment opportunities. It is vital to realize that when automation is gaining more presence in different industries especially in the manufacturing and production sectors, people are losing their jobs due to this automation. If automation backed by AI becomes more efficient with time, and more advanced robots are developed to handle a variety of tasks handled by humans, then there is a possibility that companies will consider using these robots over humans. The use of robots enabled by AI can be a huge risk for job opportunities for humans. So, it is an ethical issue because people do jobs to earn their livelihood so that they can earn something to feed their families. The major portion to be the victim of robots and automation will be labor working in the production and manufacturing sectors. For instance, if a logistic company has hundreds of trucks to handle the supply chain, then they need the same number of drivers to drive these trucks. However, what if self-driving trucks become a reality as promised by Elon Musk that his Tesla Company is working on it. If these self-driving trucks will be proved 100% efficient, then all truck drivers may lose their jobs, and it can be a huge chunk of society. So, increasing the level of unemployment would remain a critical ethical issue, and the authority should think deeply about the issue how they will handle this issue to stop unemployment in the future (Bossmann, 2016). 

Inequality and Economic Issues

It is a fact that using AI in different fields and sectors resulting in so many benefits, however, the ethical issue to be looked at very closely is the issue of creating inequality. It was mentioned earlier that the growing use of AI and automation will lead to massive unemployment, and if such a huge portion of society will be left jobless, then how people would survive without any jobs. There will always be few skills that cannot be replaced by robots and automation; however, if most labor tasks are done with the help of AI, then the poor labor section of the society will be in deep trouble. If this would happen on a mass scale, it would encourage economic inequality to deepen the economic issues of society. There is so much poverty all around the world because people don’t have jobs and resources to survive. In these difficult conditions, if more people will be left jobless, this will disrupt the economic balance, creating more economic issues. In ethical terms, one cannot think to disrupt the economic balance of society by creating unemployment at a mass scale. This issue is very serious in nature, and it cannot be left unattended, especially by the governments, who have so much responsibility on their shoulders. They cannot allow unemployment to increase and widen the already huge gap consisting between poor and rich people in the world (Alonso, Kothari, & Rehman, 2020). 

Interaction of Human and Robots

With the increasing presence of AI-based robots in the social environment, the interaction of robots with humans is creating more legal, ethical, as well as technical issues. To understand the ethical side of the issue in the human-robot interaction, it is critical to put some examples to understand how things work. It is known that robots are used for physical assistance, such as providing this assistance to disable people or old age people. These robots can handle a variety of daily tasks such as mobility, bathing, walking, etc. The physical needs of these disabled people will be served by the robots, but the question is who will satisfy their psychological and mental needs. What if a human feels a great bond with an assistive robot helping him/her in daily tasks, and when need is over and the robot is removed, then the person will be mentally stressed to lose his/her robot companion. It is vital to mention here that human-robot interaction can also be dangerous for humans, if robots have any malfunction or technical error, then they can harm the person, who is using the robot or working in the same environment. So, these kinds of ethical issues should be properly addressed to make human-robot interaction safe, considerable, and ethical. The responsibility of the concerned authority is to develop a code of conduct for the robots (Wullenkord & Eyssel, 2020). 

How to Deal with Ethical Issue of AI?

Keeping important and most critical ethical issues of artificial intelligence in mind, all need to sit together and find methods to deal with these ethical issues of AI, otherwise, question marks on the use of AI will always be there. The first and foremost important thing is to develop a consensus on making a code of ethics. When required ethical standards will be reviewed, and it will be made part of the code of ethics; things can get in the right direction to deal with so many ethical issues. Moreover, the fact must be realized that ethical issues of AI cannot be resolved if there will be no cooperation and collaboration between government and institutions. A combined and collaborative effort is needed to find viable methods to deal with the ethical issues of AI. The role of governments can also be extremely critical in this regard to restricting companies in terms of unethically using data of consumers and then utilizing AI algorithms to manipulate their behavior and purchasing decisions. So, these are some of the strategies to deal with ethical issues of AI (Li, An, & Zhang, 2021). 

Conclusion

After analyzing all possible elements and aspects of the ethical issues of using artificial intelligence, it can be said that these ethical issues are realistic, and no one can leave these issues unattended. These ethical issues can have negative implications in the future when human-robot interaction will get more common with time. Therefore governments, IT experts, business owners, and individual users must sit together to see why these ethical issues are happening, and what can be done to minimize the impact of these ethical issues. It is vital to know that a joint, combined, and dedicated effort from all sectors can help to mitigate these ethical issues of AI.