Four frontiers of AI ethics

Abstract

The field of AI ethics is still solidifying, and is beginning to have tangible effects on the direction of innovation in the technology. This paper identifies four ethical frontiers that are likely to shape the future of AI. The first is the recognition of contexts represented by the data and culture of an AI system’s development, which can be a challenge to the aim of using AI to bring about greater prosperity and equity globally. Next, some of the difficulties and discoveries of investigations into AI explainability are discussed. The vulnerability of AI’s reliance on large amounts of data in the advent of data rights is described, along with the innovative solutions currently being explored to support secure, privacy-preserving AI. Finally, the two fields that best exemplify the ethics of AI-supported decision making serve as case studies into autonomy and accountability: medicine and warfare.