Technical Briefing: AI and Ethics

What do we mean by AI? PART 1: WHY ETHICS IN AI MATTERS

Let’s start by defining what we mean by AI. The OECD definition of AI states: “An AI system is a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. Different AI systems vary in their levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment.”

A more user-friendly definition comes from Deloitte’s Chief AI Officer, Sulabh Soral: “At its most basic, AI is software that mimics and generates human behaviours – planning, generating ideas, understanding speech and visuals. Its ability to scale human intellect will have a profound impact.” Critically, for this review of the ethical considerations, it is important to note that unlike traditional computer programmes, where you must specifically tell the programme what to do in certain situations, AI is “trained” on a set of data, learning in a manner which might be thought to be akin to how a human learns.

AI AND ETHICS | PART ONE: WHAT DO WE MEAN BY AI?

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