Can AI Think Ethically If We Teach It To?

The next big thing of the high-tech industry is artificial intelligence. We are now capable of making new friends with a virtual assistant like Alexa or Siri, or taking a ride in a car that drives itself. As artificial intelligence continues to impact people’s everyday lives, there is a growing concern on the ethics of future developments. It may be convenient to be able to take a nap while your car drives you to work, but what is artificial intelligence programmed to do in emergency situations? Due to a lack of a solely accepted framework of ethics, it can be challenging to apply ethics to artificial intelligence. 

Artificial intelligence has to make quick decisions, often without having all of the information needed for the situation. For example, when using a driverless car, artificial intelligence has the control over protection. While 76% of people felt that cars using AI should save as many lives as possible, it’s still preferred to protect the passenger at all costs. Additionally, AI can learn bias from humans can also affect recruiting, pedestrian detection, and facial recognition. If AI isn’t programmed with accurate data, trained, and monitored, it can cost opportunities or even lives. 

The innovation of artificial intelligence continues and may be able to function with total autonomy in the future. Learn more about ethical AI below.