Ethics of Technology And AI

Lawler contends that technology is a problem in today’s culture since man cannot live without it and that using it makes him both better and worse (Lawler 123-134). Humans, he says, are tool-making or technological animals. Humans transform themselves by using their freedom and intellect to transform nature. At the same time, man possesses a wicked ability that might deprive him of happiness. The desire of humans is to be free of the burdens that have resulted from technological accomplishment. This position makes it hard for man to fairly judge what kind and how much technology serves our interests (Lawler 123-134).

The moral principle in this argument is that man should be free to reject or accept various developments related to technology. Technology should be a means of pursuing any ends that man chooses but it has ended up being the destiny of man that is moved along by unlimited and impersonal technological progress. Looking at this from a natural view, it remains a mystery as to why of all the species, humans beings alone happen to be technological animals. Man is the only species that is comfortable to negate nature in an effort to satisfy personal desires and this is seen in the increasing efforts to create new technologies to satisfy personal needs. Change in technology should be seen as progress from a different perspective. It has emerged as an index of the increasing power of man to manipulate and control nature. The general principle of existence is that societies that open up and encourage this kind of change overwhelm the other societies that do not (Lawler 123-134).

My position is that I agree with this argument now that any form of rapid technological advance has been observed to result in human disorientation and its initial impact it to result in at least almost equal misery as it is of great importance. Such change seems to be in balance beneficial only in cases where it has been routinized. Technological change is likely to be an increasingly evil in the case that it becomes too rapid for man who is known to be dependent on tradition and habit he lives with.

2. The increased development of human-like and machine learning robots is likely to result in more exciting and helpful advances in automation. Such advances play a significant role in having a life that is more efficient as well as finding solutions to major global challenges like poverty, diseases, environmental issues, and traffic. However, in addition to these advances, there have been increased ethical concerns in this age of AI. Some of these major concerns include the manner in which robots and humans relate to one another, the extent to which the line between robots and humans blur, and that AI possess a potential threat to mankind. These concerns have even had the tech industry leaders highlight the need to have the right response to these ethical concerns before their mass implementation (Muller 23)

The incorporation of machine-learning algorithms and Internet-connected networks has resulted in dramatic and dangerous advances in the ability of machines to understand and apply both visual and spoken communications. Concerns are that such capabilities are likely to advance the existing AI to have autonomous reasoning abilities and with such advances, they will not have any need for humanity. Such prospects related to the increased development of AI have raised the anxiety of the possibility of AI spelling the end of human race, making it the biggest threat to mankind (Muller 29).

Following these concerns, there is the need for transparency, especially among the key parties involved, so as to address the existing discrepancies. There is need to have as many people as possible to be educated about this AI technology. This should involve bringing together all the industry peers as well as practitioners from different backgrounds such as science, tech, business, product, and investment. Such parties should come from different culture and regions across the world with a common goal of sharing ideas about the application of AI, collaborating on the existing ethical and technical challenges that put AI into production and offering various ethical and practical viewpoints on how AI can be developed further but remain safe for humans (Muller 32). This way, such machines will be a reflection of the principle and values of its trainers and creators. They will also work on the basis of the goals that they have been programmed for.

There is the need for an ethical design principle to guide all those who apply and develop AI. This will ensure that negative challenges are limited and focus more on the benefits of AI. Having AI in the future life is inevitable just as the case of farm mechanization and electricity. It is not an option than to develop reluctance and fear against AI. The priority should be determining the fundamental cornerstone that is needed in the future society. This calls for every involved party to learn about the effect of AI and share their findings so as to contribute to ethical implementation and development.

Some of the moral principles that are applicable in this context include;

i. Robot Rights: refer to the society’s moral obligations towards machines that are equated to animals and human rights. The rights of robots include the rights to exist as well as perform their missions and this mainly concerns serving humans. The rights are comparable to human rights in relation to the duties of human beings before society. (Muller 41)

ii. The threat to human dignity: Weizenbaum in 1976 stated that AI technology should not be allowed to replace mankind in areas that need care and respect like customer service representatives, therapists, nursemaids meant for the elderly, judges, soldiers, and police officers. He went ahead to explain further that there is the need for a special authentic empathy feeling from the people who work in such positions and that only human beings can offer such a feeling. By machines taking on such responsibilities, man is likely to find himself devalued, alienated, and frustrated. This means that when Artificial intelligence is used in this manner, it will be a threat to human dignity (Muller 41).

iii. Machine Ethics: Machine ethics, in some cases referred to as machine morality, concerns itself with Artificial Moral Agents (AMAs) designs in an effort to ensure that artificially intelligent computers or robots behave as though moral or behave morally (Muller 41). Some experts and academics have come out strongly questioning the use of robots in military combat, particularly when the robots are allowed to have some autonomous functions degree.

iv. Unintended Consequences: It claims that at some point in the 21st century, a self-improving AI will get to the point that it will have more powers than man and that man will not be in a position to stop it from doing what it wants. This means that AI will have the ability to bring human race to extinction.

3. My opinion is that computers have made our lives both easier and worse. Computers have made work easier but at the same time complicated our lives now that they are a number of issues that are associated with the use of computers. For example, it is now easy to pay bills quicker and easier but if we depend on the computers too much they are likely to present some issues. For example, some schools systems and companies have no backup plans in the event that computers fail. Like in the case of our local school, its system has continued to make use of the grading systems that have tons of bugs and this has resulted in a lot of inconsistencies and frustrations for teachers and parents.

Computers play a vital role on our lives and in the society at large and that at this point we cannot live without computers now that they solve the complicated problems and issues at home and at work. However, we should not over depend on computers. With computers, we are able to save effort and time while at the same time cut on cost in completing any task. At the same time, computers are being used in almost every task without considering if all the users have the required knowledge to carry out that task. For examples some of the parents who were used to paying schools fees in cash right now keep on calling asking for guidance on how to do the same online. In addition, computers have replaced some of the jobs that were meant for people.

Despite that computers are faster and more effective, they have rendered people jobless. According to ethics theory, since the introduction of computers, there have been increased concerns that computers may be used for wrong reasons and affect the society negatively, or replace humans at the workplaces. This is what is happening in the current society in the sense that in addition to making work easier and efficient, the same computers are seen to increase the rate of crime such as cybercrime and immorality in the society (Muller 41). Computers use poses a challenge to the illiterate members of the society now that they cannot perform some of the computer-related tasks now that they lack the computer skills. As much as we appreciate how computers have made our lives easier and more convenient, we should also take into considerations the challenges that are associated computers.

Works Cited

Lawler, Augustine. The Problem of Technology. Perspective on Political Science. 34, 3, (2005), p. 125-134

Muller, Vincent. Risks of artificial intelligence. CRC Press - Chapman & Hall, 2016. Print