Navigating the AI Ethics Matrix
Alison Taylor
Ethical AI Champion
How should we manage AI? Join Alison Taylor, NYU Stern professor and executive director of Ethical Systems, as she explores the ethical challenges of AI, defines key terms like GenAI and LLM, and explains how to future-proof your career in a digital world.
How should we manage AI? Join Alison Taylor, NYU Stern professor and executive director of Ethical Systems, as she explores the ethical challenges of AI, defines key terms like GenAI and LLM, and explains how to future-proof your career in a digital world.
Sign up today
Sign up for Santander Open Academy to unlock your potential with our free, expert-led learning platform.
Navigating the AI Ethics Matrix
16 mins 48 secs
Key learning objectives:
Describe ethics
Define key AI terminology (Generative AI, LLM, Hallucination)
Understand the connection between ethics and technology adoption
Overview:
Understanding the ethics of emerging technologies is crucial as it affects both our personal and professional lives. Alison Taylor, a business ethics professor, highlights how technology, like AI, can perpetuate biases and why humans must intervene when tech fails us. Taylor provides practical steps to enhance ethical awareness and navigate new tech, emphasising the importance of soft skills like empathy and common sense. This step equips learners to future-proof their careers amidst technological advances and societal changes.
Sign up today
Sign up for Santander Open Academy to unlock your potential with our free, expert-led learning platform.
In the context of technology, ethics is defined as the practice of behaving in a moral and principled manner. This involves considering a set of values and principles when making decisions, especially in business settings. Ethical practices in business require balancing profit motives with broader responsibilities to society. You can think of ethics as an "invisible umpire" that guides professional and personal actions, ensuring that you adhere to moral standards.
What do the terms ‘GenAI’, ‘LLM’ and ‘hallucination’ mean?
Understanding key AI terminology is important to understanding new emerging technology.
The term Generative AI, or GenAI, refers to AI systems trained on existing data to generate new examples. A Large Language Model, or LLM, is a specific type of Generative AI focused on written language. LLMs are trained on vast amounts of text data, including digitized books and internet content. In AI, a hallucination refers to instances where AI generates content that doesn't exist in reality or is factually incorrect. This underscores the importance of verifying AI-generated content.
What is an example that illustrates the ethical challenges of AI technology?
A notable example illustrating the ethical challenges of AI technology was a tool Amazon built to help with hiring. The AI tool was designed to rate job candidates for technical roles. However, it was trained on a dataset of resumes submitted over a decade, predominantly from men. As a result, the AI developed a bias against women, leading to discriminatory hiring practices. Despite attempts to fix the bias, the program was deemed unfixable and was ultimately scrapped. This case underscores the ethical challenge of ensuring that AI systems do not perpetuate existing biases and the critical role of human oversight in mitigating such issues.
What are some ways to navigate new technology ethically?
To help you navigate new technology ethically, cultivate greater personal awareness. Reflect on the technology you use daily and consider the ethical practices of the companies behind these technologies. Always question whose ethics are being reflected and if they align with yours. Also, when using AI tools, especially chatbots, validate the information they provide. Consider the risks of relying on potentially biased or incorrect AI-generated content and seek ways to verify the data.
Why is understanding ethics important for your career?
Understanding ethics is crucial for future-proofing your career because it equips you to navigate the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of emerging technologies. Ethical awareness will help you make informed decisions throughout your career that align with moral principles and societal values. This can mitigate the risk of perpetuating biases, causing harm, or hurting your reputation. As regulations often lag behind technological advancements, cultivating personal responsibility and ethical judgment becomes essential. By focusing on ethical considerations and developing human-centric skills, you can better adapt to and thrive in a digital environment that increasingly relies on AI and other advanced technologies.
The opinions and viewpoints expressed in this video are those of the creator and do not necessarily reflect the views of any affiliated organisations.
Sign up today
Sign up for Santander Open Academy to unlock your potential with our free, expert-led learning platform.
Alison Taylor
There are no available Steps from "Alison Taylor"