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| Photo by DeepMind on Unsplash |
AI refers to a machine's or a robot's ability to do tasks that intelligent beings typically handle. The phrase describes creating machines that can reason, extrapolate, find significance, or draw lessons from the past. The term covers a wide range of tasks, from straightforward mathematical computation to intricate simulations of the human mind.
The Ethics of AI
AI already significantly impacts our daily lives, even though it may sound like something from The Matrix. Ethics are crucial to human society and just as critical—if not more—to the development of AI. We must incorporate ethics into the programming to stop AI from becoming rogue and beyond human control, preventing a future in which the movie "I Robot" becomes a reality.
Several researchers, tech titans, and politicians are concerned about the ethics of AI. Transparency, accountability, and how AI will interact with human civilization are issues at the centre of this debate. There must be a thorough grasp of the limits of technology to avoid the errors that occurred in earlier discoveries like nuclear weapons or chemical fertilizers.
What are the top artificial intelligence ethics challenges, and how do we address fairness?
Unemployment: What transpires after jobs get terminated?
Artificial Intelligence comes with the automation of tasks. Millions of people in the process are likely to lose their jobs. Most human beings still depend on selling their time to make a living. Automation, in this case, means loss of employment.
Automation gives people more time for other valuable activities. Caring for families, for example, is a way to spend time.
In the future, AI will likely make us see how brutal it was to spend most of our awake hours working to enable us to live.
Inequality: How should the money produced by machines be distributed?
When it comes to products and services, the majority of businesses still rely on hourly labour. But by utilizing artificial intelligence, a company can significantly reduce its reliance on its human staff. It implies that fewer people will receive the profits. So, the only people who will profit from AI-driven businesses are those who own them. Starting-up founders already take home a sizable amount of their economic surplus, causing a growing wealth disparity.
How should a fair post-labour economy be set up if we imagine a post-work society?
Humanity: How do technological advancements impact how we act and communicate?
Bots powered by artificial intelligence are improving at simulating human interaction. We frequently communicate with machines as if they are humans, whether in customer service or sales. Humans have restrictions on the care and goodwill they can devote to another person. Artificial bots may channel practically unlimited resources into developing connections.
Artificial intelligence ethics integration can make a difference. It could encourage society to adopt better practices.
Artificial stupidity: How can we protect ourselves against errors?
Learning is the foundation of intelligence, whether you're a machine or a human. Systems typically undergo training to "learn" to recognize the correct patterns and respond to their input.
The training phase cannot include every scenario a system can encounter in the real world. These systems are susceptible to tricks that people would not.
Suppose we rely on AI to usher in a new era of labour, security, and efficiency. In that case, we must ensure the machine operates as intended. Artificial intelligence ethics helps avoid subversion by humans for their purposes.
Racist robots: How can we get rid of AI prejudice?
Artificial intelligence can process information far more quickly and efficiently than humans. However, it cannot always be relied upon as impartial and fair.
We must remember that humans, prone to prejudice and bias, design AI systems.
Artificial intelligence can spur good change if employed by people who want society's advancement. It is therefore critical to check artificial intelligence ethics while at it.
How do we ensure AI fairness?
Fairness is a complicated topic. It calls for research into its definitions and how it affects the AI models created. It is critical to thoroughly examine the data used to train the model and its outcomes.
Fairness is closely related to the interpretability of AI models - and the openness of the modelling process itself.
An excellent option to achieve artificial intelligence ethics is to support AI governance through an AI platform. Researchers are currently exploring the concept of fairness in AI. Practitioners worry about the effects of using AI to assist decision-making.
A platform offers fairness and transparency that is independently verified. Claiming that an AI approach is fair or ethical is one thing, but demonstrating artificial intelligence ethics is quite another.
Consider verifying your data using an AI Platform to prevent bias or discrimination in results. It's a sure way to attain artificial intelligence ethics.
The need to address the Ethics of AI in Africa
AI is a valuable tool for colonizing the continent virtually. China, for instance, uses Africa as a proving ground for its surveillance.
An authoritarian regime may employ AI to perpetuate prejudice, attack political rivals, and practice poor governance.
For Zimbabweans, a challenge with data sovereignty may arise from the absence of a legal or moral framework.
Addressing Ethics of AI in Africa through research
The unanticipated adverse effects of AI applications are widely recognized. The quantity of research going on in Artificial Intelligence ethics keeps expanding.
AI research institutions are leading the majority of this research effort. The Montreal Institute for AI and other universities serve as examples.
Microsoft and BMW are two of the companies involved.
The Independent High-Level Expert Group - Artificial Intelligence of the European Commission is also engaged. Early in 2019, it released its moral principles for reliable AI.
Professional associations have released a few recommendations. ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) and the IEEE Standards Association are two examples.
Africa's contribution to the literature on AI ethics
Regrettably, Africa has had little impact on the literature on artificial intelligence ethics. There are more than 160 international artificial intelligence ethics principles. Western ideals and perspectives may prevail in artificial intelligence ethics due to most Western contributions in the ethics guidelines.
Is Africa making use of Artificial Intelligence?
AI technology can solve several problems with the continent's development.
South Africa's healthcare sector uses AI for quick HIV testing. Uganda uses AI to suggest the best routes for individual or emergency vehicles. A small number of traffic police officers are subsequently dynamically redeployed. To remove bottlenecks, it also examines potential changes to the road network.
In Kenya, The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) encouraged the deployment of an AI tool with drones. After nine months, more than a dozen hunters got captured in the Maasai Mara. Google.org awarded WWF a $5 million grant to use this AI-enabled device to safeguard wildlife.
Conclusion
The ethical development of all AI-driven technology is essential, and industry self-regulation will be more effective than any governmental effort.