Ethics and AI Innovation

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has astonishing potential to solve many of humanity's problems, but it has also brought about an array of new threats. The challenge is to find a way to mitigate the negatives of the Revolution without impairing the extraordinary potential of AI to accelerate all areas of human development. AI ethics offers a possible basis for doing so by providing a set of aspirational ideals as to the role of AI, rather than a minimum standard for compliance which is likely to become increasingly irrelevant. Throughout history, humans have adapted and adjusted to the technologies of the time and though the integration of AI into all human experience and decision-making will come to be seen as normal and taken for granted, there will still be a number of profound ethical choices that must be made. Implementing ethical AI will require a multi-modal and co-regulatory approach. There are a variety of existing approaches but some common principles have emerged. These provide a framework for action.