Ethics is concerned with identifying what is right or wrong in situations. Often referred to as morals, ethics are the fundamental values that allow human beings to not just coexist but to thrive together. Built upon respect, fairness, honesty and responsibility, ethical values to live and develop ideas by are best exemplified as our
Human Rights.
Human Rights are for every human being, without discrimination regardless of their looks/status/gender/other. The right to education, freedom of movement, to live a secure and safe life, to name a few, are all a part of the ethical principles which have been universally agreed upon since at least the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Human Rights is an idea that ‘empowers’ the weak and vulnerable, protecting them from abuse of their rights to a life of dignity and freedom." [1] Understanding ethics is rooted in securing our human rights - for everybody.
Human Rights.
Human Rights are for every human being, without discrimination regardless of their looks/status/gender/other. The right to education, freedom of movement, to live a secure and safe life, to name a few, are all a part of the ethical principles which have been universally agreed upon since at least the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Human Rights is an idea that ‘empowers’ the weak and vulnerable, protecting them from abuse of their rights to a life of dignity and freedom." [1] Understanding ethics is rooted in securing our human rights - for everybody.
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“The realization of human rights requires establishing the conditions, positive and negative, for all human beings to lead minimally good lives* and thus should not be confused with attempts to promote the highest possible standards of living, or the best or most just form of economic system, or a morally perfect society.” [2] |
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“The concept of human rights lies in a domain in which normative philosophy, law and social science meet”, [3].
A human rights based approach to the field of AI would involve ethically conscious decision making every step of the way – from consulting with a wide range of specialists from inter-disciplinary fields regarding new innovations to conducting risk assessments for how these developments may impact local and the wider communities. With the arrival of new technology, comes new possibilities for human action and consequence, both good and bad. With these new possibilities comes new ethical questions and scenarios which we may not have encountered and solved before, and thus must be preemptively analysed instead of waiting for negative consequences to occur.
A company which uses a human rights based approach in their work will serve as an example of how to embrace contemporary innovations whilst being socially conscious - from addressing the companies footprint on the environment to the health and well-being of its employees in what is predicted to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
A human rights based approach to the field of AI would involve ethically conscious decision making every step of the way – from consulting with a wide range of specialists from inter-disciplinary fields regarding new innovations to conducting risk assessments for how these developments may impact local and the wider communities. With the arrival of new technology, comes new possibilities for human action and consequence, both good and bad. With these new possibilities comes new ethical questions and scenarios which we may not have encountered and solved before, and thus must be preemptively analysed instead of waiting for negative consequences to occur.
A company which uses a human rights based approach in their work will serve as an example of how to embrace contemporary innovations whilst being socially conscious - from addressing the companies footprint on the environment to the health and well-being of its employees in what is predicted to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Although there may be challenges ahead of us, proactive regulation is necessary. The magnitude of AI is greater than just the one businesses impact on society, (although which cannot be underestimated). AI and the reactions of its actions and ours with it, has the potential to make or break humanity. We must act preemptively as opposed to re-actively to solve any issues which may arise in AI as soon and effectively as possible – not to wait for problems to arise but to successfully analyse the potential issues and mitigate them now before any harm is caused. There is a danger that inaction regarding anticipatory regulation, ethical policy and lack of in-depth nuanced analysis of the potential issues of AI, will lead to the critical mass of issues to surpass our ability to primitively create legal protection that will mitigate human rights abuses in this emerging field.
Human rights are universal and inalienable, thus approaching technical innovation from a human rights based perspective and installing regulation to protect them, does not have to entail halting the movement - the human rights are there to be adhered to either way.
Human rights are universal and inalienable, thus approaching technical innovation from a human rights based perspective and installing regulation to protect them, does not have to entail halting the movement - the human rights are there to be adhered to either way.
The capacity of AI combined with the creativity and endurance of the human mind has the potential to solve long standing world issues such as climate change to more at home causes such as how to best improve our health systems. But it is only with a transparent and ethical approach to this field and it innovations and the policies which encompass them, can we achieve the goal of using AI to help make the world a better place for everybody.
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
(Mark 8:36)
* The Minimally Good Life; a notion proposed by James Nickel, (2007. Making Sense of Human Rights, Blackwell Publishing, London), although open to interpretation, the basic meaning of the minimally good life, is to maintain basic standards of living that ensures your minimum happiness, health and enjoyment of human rights - the essential basics of what makes our lives 'good'.
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
(Mark 8:36)
* The Minimally Good Life; a notion proposed by James Nickel, (2007. Making Sense of Human Rights, Blackwell Publishing, London), although open to interpretation, the basic meaning of the minimally good life, is to maintain basic standards of living that ensures your minimum happiness, health and enjoyment of human rights - the essential basics of what makes our lives 'good'.
[1] Parr-Fukuda, S. (2013). Human Rights and Politics in Development. In: M. Goodhart, ed., Human Rights Politics and Practice. Cxford: Oxford University Press.
[2] Short et al:2015).
[3] Freeman, M. (2002). Human Rights (Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Polity Key Concepts in the Social Sciences series. Cambridge: Polity Press.
[4] Caliari, A. (2009). Trade, Investment, Finance and Human Rights: Assessment and Strategy Paper. SUR International Journal of Human Rights, 6(11).