Towards a Code of Ethics for Artificial Intelligence

134 Pages·2017·1.34 MB·English

by  Paula Boddington (auth.)

Artificial Intelligence: Foundations, Theory, and Algorithms
Paula Boddington
Towards a
Code of Ethics
for Artificial
Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence: Foundations, Theory,
and Algorithms
Serieseditors
BarryO’Sullivan,Cork,Ireland
MichaelWooldridge,Oxford,UnitedKingdom
Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/13900
Paula Boddington
Towards a Code of Ethics
for Artificial Intelligence
PaulaBoddington
DeptofComputerScience
UniversityofOxford
Oxford,UnitedKingdom
ISSN2365-3051 ISSN2365-306X (electronic)
ArtificialIntelligence:Foundations,Theory,andAlgorithms
ISBN978-3-319-60647-7 ISBN978-3-319-60648-4 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-60648-4
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017950394
©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt
fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained
hereinor for anyerrors oromissionsthat may havebeenmade. Thepublisher remainsneutralwith
regardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
Printedonacid-freepaper
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature
TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
This work is dedicated to the memory of my
dear friend and colleague, Professor Pamela
Sue Anderson, 1955–2017
Foreword
Few academic disciplines have suffered as many reversals of fortune as artificial
intelligence(AI).EarlyAIresearchersseemedtomakerapidprogressandbecame
convincedthattheywereonthefasttracktothegranddreamsofAI—onlytofind
thatprogresspeteredout,amidclaimsthatAIwasnothingmorethanmodern-day
alchemy.SuccessivewavesofsubsequentAItechnologieshavepromisedprogress,
butintheendprogressprovedpossibleonlyonverynarrowproblems.
We are currently in one of the periodic boom times for AI. There has been
genuinelyimpressiveprogressintheareaofmachinelearning,promptedinpartby
the availability of cheap computer power and big data and in part by scientific
breakthroughs. This progress has caused massive media hype, and there has been
muchspeculationaboutthepossibilitythattheAIproblemhasfinallybeensolved
and that we will now see swift progress to the grand dream of AI. And this
possibility has in turn caused some well-respected pundits to publicly voice con-
cernsaboutthedangersthatrapidprogresstoAImightbring.
Whether or not we are on the fast track to intelligent machines, it seems that
recent advances in AI bring with them real challenges. There will very likely be
important societal challenges arising in areas such as (un)employment, privacy,
healthcareandautonomousweaponry.Scientists,technologistsandpolicy-makers
need to be aware of these issues and must be able to respond to them. Ethical
considerationsnaturallycometothefore—whichbringsustothisvolume.
Ethicalcodesofpracticehavealonghistoryinsciencebutnotanuntroubledone.If
wewanttothinkaboutethicsforAI—andIbelieveweshould—thenweshoulddoso
informedbythehistoricalexperienceofotherdisciplines,andwitharealisticunder-
standingoftheissuesthatethicalcodesofpracticethemselvesraise.Iamdelightedto
havetheopportunitytointroducethisvolume,writtenbyaphilosopherwithalong
trackrecordofresearchinmedicalethics.Thebookexploresindetailtheseissues,and
shouldbereadbyeveryonewithaninterestinthefutureofAI.
Oxford,UK MichaelWooldridge
June2017
vii
Foreword
It is a privilege and a pleasure to introduce Paula Boddington’s new book, which
provides a wonderful new resource for anyone interested in ethics or in artificial
intelligence (AI), and is surely essential reading for anyone interested in their
overlap. Although its title might suggest a relatively narrow and professional
focus on the development of ethical codes for AI research, it is very engagingly
written, and full of valuable insights into ethics more generally: a book that
deserves a wide readership, in school and university teaching as well as amongst
relevantprofessionals.
Ethics has ancient roots, reflecting its perennial and central role in human life,
while AI has developed significantly only in the last half-century. And it is the
explosivegrowthofthepowerandpotentialofAIoverthelastdecadeorsothathas
broughttopublicprominencethecrucialimportanceofaddressingthemanyethical
issuesthatitraises.Withinaveryfewyears,wecouldbelivinginaworldinwhich
ahugeproportionofthedecisionsthataffectourlives—fromfinancialmarketsto
transportation and from healthcare to military operations—are either made or
significantlyinformedbyAIsystems.
Understandably,therefore,ahostofprojectshaverecentlysprunguparoundthe
worldtotrytoanticipateandamelioratethemanyethical,socialandlegalproblems
that AI could spawn. But much of what has been said on these topics, including
mostoftheoutputthathasbeenthefocusofmedia‘hype’,hasbeenphilosophically
simplistic and crude. There is, after all, no reason to expect that high-profile
entrepreneursorpioneersofAI—eveniftheirwordscommandwidespreadpublic
attention—willhavespecialinsightsintocomplexethicalissuesandthemanyways
in which these interact with personal, cultural and legal perspectives. We do not
expect arms manufacturers to be authorities on the ethics of war, or surgeons or
geneticiststobeauthoritiesontheethicsofmedicine.Indeed,ourdoubtsarelikely
to be all the greater when these people may have economic or other motives for
theirviews,orarefuturisticenthusiastswhoseinterestsarehighlyuntypical.
WhenconsideringtheethicsoffutureAI,moreover,itisevenlessappropriateto
base our judgements primarily on the views of company bosses or technical
ix
x Foreword
researchers, because we are imagining a future in which the bounds of machine
intelligence press further in many directions, often going well beyond what any-
body can currently foresee.Thus,our understanding of the problems we will face
needs to be moulded far more by our ethical and philosophical landscape than by
current technological details. And hence to assist these debates, there is a crucial
need for resources that can help participants to learn the lessons that have been
garnereddowntheyearsbyethicistsandphilosophers,workinginareasthatshare
someofthesamecharacteristics,andtoexaminecarefullyandcriticallyhowthese
lessonscanimpactonAIandtheethicaldilemmasthatitislikelytoprovoke.This
new book provides just such a resource, bringing rich insights from a moral
philosopher who has many years of experience working at the cutting edge of
medicalethics,probablytheclosestrelativeofAIethicsintermsofthenoveltyof
thequestionsitraises,itscapacitytoimpactonourviewofourselvesandonmany
aspectsofourlivesanditsperspectivetowardsanunknownandconstantlyevolv-
ingfuture.
Veryimportantly,Boddingtonisnotwritingfromaparticularnarrowlydefined
ethical perspective and is not attempting to promote a specific theory about AI
ethics. Indeed, the book exhibits a profound awareness of the complications and
pitfallsof ethics and the dangers ofhubristic claims tocomprehensive answersor
simplisticsolutions.Itisalsowritteninadelightfulstyle,withhumour,verveanda
willingnesstopuncturetheoreticalballoonswithdown-to-earthobservations.Asa
philosophermyself,Icanseeclearevidencehereofmanyyears’teachingofethics,
ascommonerrorsarehighlighted,cautionarypointsjudiciouslymadeandpompous
vacuities(whicharealltoocommoninpublicethicalpronouncements)exposed.
Quite apart from the focus on AI, the early chapters provide an excellent
introduction to ethical thinking, from which many other philosophers—both
teachers and students—could learn much. One particularly nice feature of the
book is the many boxes containing succinct self-contained discussions of specific
issues, including algorithmic bias, transparency, moral disgust, relativism, health
and social change, narrative in policy-making, ethical arms races, administrative
evilandvirtueethics.Thesequicklyenablethereadertoabsorbalargenumberof
insightfulpointsoverawiderangeandalsohelptomakethebookarealpleasureto
dipinto.Anothernicefeatureisthefrequentraisingofthequestion‘What’sthisgot
to do with AI?’, spelling out explicitly both how the various ethical issues are
relevant toAI and how distinctive developments in AI can bring new factors into
olderethicaldiscussions.
Laterinthebook,thediscussionofcodesofprofessionalethicsiswellinformed
andjudicious,drawingvaluablelessonsfrompastexperienceofsuchcodes,citing
evidence from psychology and other relevant fields and highlighting potential
problems that are commonly overlooked. The development and application of
such codes is by no means straightforward, and they can bring dangers as well as
benefits.AsappliedtoAI,anumberofdistinctiveproblemsemerge,rangingfrom
thedistributedandunprofessionalisednatureofAIresearch,theconcentrationand
imbalance of resources, possible mixed motivations of the various actors and the
enormous range—both anticipated and unforeseen—of potential applications. All
Foreword xi
ofthesemakeithardtoextrapolatefromthepastdevelopmentofethicalcodesin,
forexample,civilengineeringormedicine.
Anentirechapterisdevotedtoanotherdistinctiveproblem,namely,thedevel-
opmentofacodeofethicsforatechnologythatisrapidlyevolving—bothtechno-
logically and in terms of its social and economic impact. Profound social or
economicchangecharacteristicallyleadstomoraluncertaintiesanddisagreements
between groups within society. Working out codes of ethics that can guide us
throughtheseminefields,inawaythatcancommandgeneralassent,posesaserious
problem.Issuesofvaluesandresponsibilityaredifficultenoughwithatechnology
thatcrossesallinternationalandculturalboundaries,buttheyaremadeevenmore
intractableinthecontextofubiquitouschange.Boddingtonplausiblysuggeststhat
diversityofparticipationinthesedevelopmentsatleastprovidesanimportantpart
of any solution. She then goes on to provide a helpful guide to ‘characteristic
pitfallsinconsideringtheethicsofAI’,againmakingiteasyforreaderstoacquire
valuableinsightsfromherextensivethoughtandexperience.
The book ends with a discussion of ‘suggestions for how to proceed’ in devel-
opingcodesofAIethics,emphasisingfactorssuchasproperinstitutionalbacking,
publictrust,diversityinparticipation,transparency,communicationandappropri-
ate procedures for revision and critique. Again Boddington brings to bear her
experience as a moral philosopher, carefully and helpfully explaining relevant
considerations. Overall, the book makes abundantly clear that there are no easy
answers,andindeed,weareleftonlytooawareofthemanydifferentquestionsthat
need to be faced if we are to stand any chance of developing codes of ethics that
might significantly ameliorate the risks arising from the future development of
AI.ButIhavenodoubtthatourchanceswillbegreatlyincreasedifthoseconcerned
payseriousattentiontothisexcellentbook.
Oxford,UK PeterMillican
June2017