Morality in the process of war, or “jus in bello,” is one of the two principles of the Just War Theory doctrine, created by ethicists in an attempt to reduce the immorality of war. Autonomous weapons, which function without human control and have been used by the United States military since the Obama administration, may thus be unable to fulfill the requirements of jus in bello. So, is it possible for fully autonomous weaponry to ethically take human life in the context of war? As autonomous weapons cannot be held liable for their actions, lack the capacity to make crucial decisions on their own, and would have a profoundly negative effect on the civilian population, this paper argues that they are therefore unable to be used ethically and should not be participants in war.
View More Autonomous Weapon Systems: Our New Soldiers, or a Disaster Waiting to Happen?Tag: Artificial Intelligence
The Ethics of Digital Voice Assistants
In 2019, there were a staggering 3.25 billion digital voice assistants in use across the globe, a figure that is predicted to rise to 8 billion by 2023. These assistants, which include Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and more, are not just computers; they have voices and personalities, and we develop social relationships with them just like we do with real people. However, the way they are currently designed, voice assistants enable and even encourage certain stereotypes and social behaviors in their users. This paper explores the ethicality of digital voice assistants and their effects on those who use them and suggests ways designers can approach their development to make sure such socially detrimental effects are mitigated.
View More The Ethics of Digital Voice AssistantsFacebook Finally Takes Responsibility, But Is It Enough?
Facebook’s oversight board wants to begin examining the company’s ad algorithm, but with the board’s lack of technical knowledge and absence of significant regulatory power, are they ethically qualified to do so?
View More Facebook Finally Takes Responsibility, But Is It Enough?Learning to Trust Black Box Artificial Intelligence
Rolls-Royce’s “AI 2.0” has a massive series of checks to ensure its integrity; should this be the standard for other “explainable” AIs?
View More Learning to Trust Black Box Artificial IntelligenceExplaining Artificially Intelligent Decisions
7/27/2020 AI decision-making is everywhere these days. Getting a loan, getting an apartment, getting bail: in all three of these cases, there could be analgorithm taking…
View More Explaining Artificially Intelligent DecisionsThe Dangers of Drones
11/18/2019 The drone industry is growing rapidly, and many drone companies are pushing the limits of what is possible with drone technology. Engineering feats are being accomplished…
View More The Dangers of DronesHiding in Plain Sight
4/26/2019 Profiled article Knight, Will. “How to Hide from the AI Surveillance State with a Color Printout.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 23 Apr.…
View More Hiding in Plain SightCan AI Replace Doctors? Someone Asked Them
1/25/2019 Profile article M. Scudellari, “AI Won’t Replace Us, Docs Say”, Dec. 20, 2018. [Online] IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Available at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/ethics/ai-wont-replace-us-docs-say [Accessed 24…
View More Can AI Replace Doctors? Someone Asked ThemTraining Gender Bias into Resumé Readers
10/12/2018 Profiled article J. Dastin, “Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women”, reuters.com, Oct. 09, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-jobs-automation-insight/amazon-scraps-secret-ai-recruiting-tool-that-showed-bias-against-women-idUSKCN1MK08G?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social Profile This week we’ll…
View More Training Gender Bias into Resumé ReadersAn Investigation into the Ethical Implications of Deep Sea Mining
While many still associate deep sea mining with science fiction, recent developments have proven that ocean mining could be a very profitable reality in just…
View More An Investigation into the Ethical Implications of Deep Sea Mining