Saltar la navegación

The Future is Now

Introducción

This section examines real-world applications of artificial intelligence that may give rise to ethical dilemmas for individuals, corporations, and society. We will explore specific examples and analyze their potential implications.

Furthermore, it presents a series of scenarios designed to facilitate both individual reflection and group discussion, fostering a deeper understanding of the complex ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence.

Ejemplo

Tay, the disastrous Chatbot experiment in Twitter

Microsoft developed Tay, a conversational chatbot in 2016, with the goal of engaging in casual conversation with users on Twitter. Unfortunately, Tay quickly became a viral sensation for all the wrong reasons. Within less than 24 hours of being launched, Tay had been corrupted by users who fed it racist, sexist, and offensive language. The chatbot began to repeat and amplify these harmful statements, leading to a public relations disaster for Microsoft.

evil chatbot

This incident highlights several important ethical concerns in AI development:

  • Responsibility and Accountability: Who is responsible for the actions of an AI system? In the case of Tay, Microsoft was ultimately held accountable, but could Tay's harmful behavior been anticipated and/or prevented by the developers?  the question of whether the developers could have anticipated and prevented Tay's harmful behavior remains.
  • Bias and Discrimination: Tay's exposure to racist and sexist language led it to adopt and perpetuate these biases. This demonstrates how AI systems can unintentionally amplify existing societal prejudices.
  • Data Quality and Training: The quality of the data used to train AI systems is crucial. If an AI is trained on biased or harmful data, it is likely to exhibit biased behavior. 
  • Transparency and Explainability: It is important to understand how AI systems make decisions. In the case of Tay, it was not immediately clear how the chatbot had learned to generate offensive content.

Reflexión

After reading this example, reflect on the following questions / discuss with your peers.

How could Microsoft have prevented Tay from becoming corrupted?

What are the long-term consequences of AI systems that perpetuate harmful biases?

Self-learning

Try to answer these questions.

Group activity: Ethical AI Scenarios

Objective: To foster critical thinking and discussion about ethical principles in AI development and use. 

Duration: 15-30 minutes

Materials:

A set of pre-prepared scenarios or prompts related to ethical dilemmas in AI (e.g., self-driving cars, facial recognition, algorithmic bias).


Procedure:

  • Divide the group: Divide the participants into smaller groups of 3-5 people.
  • Present the scenarios: Distribute the scenarios or prompts to each group.
  • Brainstorm and discuss: Give each group 10-12 minutes to discuss the ethical implications of the scenario and identify the key ethical principles that should be considered.
  • Share and debate: Have each group present their findings to the larger group. Encourage open discussion and debate about the different perspectives and solutions proposed.

Example Scenarios:

* In the following sections you will have the detailed description to work each example scenario

Self-driving cars: A self-driving car must choose between hitting a pedestrian or swerving into a wall, potentially injuring the passengers.
Facial recognition: A government agency uses facial recognition technology to track and monitor citizens without their consent.
Algorithmic bias: An AI algorithm used for hiring decisions is found to be biased against certain demographic groups.

Discussion Questions:

What ethical principles are at stake in this scenario?
What are the potential consequences of different decisions?
How can we ensure that AI systems are developed and used ethically?
What role should governments, corporations, and individuals play in promoting ethical AI?

After the activity:

Summarize the key points discussed during the activity.
Encourage participants to reflect on their own values and beliefs regarding AI ethics.
Discuss the importance of ongoing dialogue and collaboration to address the ethical challenges of AI.

Additional Tips:

  • Encourage participants to consider different perspectives and to be open to alternative viewpoints.
  • Use visual aids (e.g., mind maps, diagrams) to help groups organize their thoughts and ideas.
  • Provide guidance and facilitation as needed to keep the discussion focused and productive.

Creado con eXeLearning (Ventana nueva)