The European Commission is taking a different approach to protecting its citizens from unethical applications of artificial intelligence to that taken by United States legislators. Rather than legislating to enforce companies to audit their systems for problems such as bias and put in place steps to mitigate the problem, they are taking the moral high-ground. […]
Category Archives: Ethics
The Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2019 – turning back the tide?
Three Democrat Senators are taking a strong stance towards regulating major companies that use artificial intelligence in applications that have a significant impact on people’s lives. They have put forward a bill, known as the Algorithmic Accountability Act, that directs: “… the Federal Trade Commission to require entities that use, store, or share personal information […]
Can Recommendation Algorithms Promote Self-Harm or Even Suicide?
This story is as shocking as it gets for AI and recommenders. A father claims that while using social media, especially Instagram, his daughter was bombarded with inappropriate images and that “some of that content is shocking in that it encourages self-harm, it links self-harm to suicide.” The girl in question went on to commit suicide. […]
Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of Freedom
Freedom is a slippery concept. At a physical or philosophical level there are many who deny that it exists at all. Spinoza, for instance, thought it didn’t. “Men believe themselves to be free, simply because they are conscious of their actions, and unconscious of the causes whereby those actions are determined”. Yet it is hardwired into […]