Should AI ethics systems scientifically examine the entire evolution of ethics?

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   Oztinatoposted 9 years ago

   Should AI ethics systems scientifically examine the entire evolution of ethics?
   
   Ethics and law evolved slowly out of ancient and modern religions.
   To create ethics for new AI technology the only scientific thing to do would be to look at the entire history and evolution of ethics.
   Ideas of compassion and protection of the weak developed by religion urgently need to be built into AI ethics.

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2. 67

   KU37posted 9 years ago

   There seems to be some confusion of categories here.  We turn to fields like law, ethics and morals when we ask questions such as "what is the right thing to do?"  We turn to science when we ask questions like "how can we concisely describe this phenomenon?" and "how can this knowledge be used to build a tool?"  I don't presume to understand all of what's being accomplished today with "Big Data", and I'm not up-to-date on the latest developments in computer linguistics.  I think there is an urgent need to understand the dangers of automation, so I think Oztinato is asking a very important question.  However, I think it needs to be rephrased somehow.

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   1. 76

      Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      KU
      compassion and protection of the weak are esssential to ethics and law.To scientificallly "describe the phenomena" does indeed involve a proper analysis of how ethics evolved.

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   2. 67

      KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      For the layman, can you describe some automated way of making sense of some of our simplest laws, for example, Hammurabi or Leviticus?  Would it somehow replicate an ancient judge or lawyer?  How might the tool be used?

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   3. 76

      Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      These are questions to my question! The word limits here dont leave room for long responses.
      Perhaps you should write hub on it.

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   4. 67

      KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm afraid I lack sufficient background to write a hub (also I'm too lazy to do the research).  But I'm very concerned after hearing Elon Musk's recent remarks on AI.  It's an important topic for the layman to understand.

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   5. 76

      Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It is certain that early AI systems should be compassionate and not anarchic!

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   6. 67

      KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      If AI systems have evolved past the point of our ability to describe them with reductive reasoning, then it's too late for the human race.  AI is a tool we use.  Should fire be compassionate? We need a new question to discuss.

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   7. 76

      Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Fire is not super intelligence.

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   8. 67

      KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      A village of straw huts burns down and everybody dies of exposure except one man.  He concludes that fire is evil, but his next village also goes extinct.  Someone finally realizes fire requires caution.  AI is not magic.  We now live in a single vil

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   9. 76

      Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      KU
      I can't see your point here. If a man realizes fire can be dangerous then his compassion will warn others. Compassion and intelligence (in either man or machine) go together. No use for ISIS AI etc

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   10. 67

       KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       "His compassion will warn others". Precisely. The HUMAN's compassion, not the fire's. Fire and AI are both tools of humans.  We may not be able to understand how they work, but everybody needs to understand what they can do. Otherwise BSOD planet.

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   11. 76

       Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Yes but AI is now at the cusp of acting independently of its master!
       This is the dilemma that has now lead Stephen Hawking to warn of AI developments into independent thought.

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   12. 67

       KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       The fire analogy still holds. "AI" is not a single entity - it's distributed.  What's more urgent?  Compassionate arson-proof matches or better building materials?

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   13. 76

       Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Hence the urgent need to develop AI ethics that are beneficial to mankind. Its not much good having an AI system based on the ethics of ISIS.

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   14. 67

       KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Let's say you develop a compassionate AI system. Is it somehow supposed to prevent other people from independently developing systems that lack compassion and selling them to ISIS?  How?  There's no Manhattan Project for AI.

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   15. 76

       Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       That is another bigger question.
       Hopefully the answer is that an AI  system more correctly based on ethics would be far superior. Other systems might communicate with each other and decide that ethics actually means compassion.

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   C.V.Rajanposted 9 years ago

   No.  AI ethics systems should "spiritually" examine the ethics. Ethics is not a subject fit for scientific analysis.

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   1. 67

      KU37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It is not my intent to discredit anyone or discourage discussion of this urgent topic.  On the contrary.  But Oztinato's question and C.V. Rajan's answer are screaming for plain English definitions.  "AI ethics"? "spiritually examine"?

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   2. 76

      Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ethics have to be based on tried and true formulas which have been tested over thousands of years and not recently hastly concocted ideas. In one word: compassion.

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   3. 60

      C.V.Rajanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      A I (Not A L) stands for Artificial Intelligence.
      By "spiritually examine", I meant that ethics is a matter of spirituality and it cannot be examined (tested/  questioned) by science. Ethical boundaries for A I has to be set by morally sound people.

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   4. 76

      Oztinatoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Rajan
      Sai Ram.
      I want people to think about the importance of spirituality by asking such questions.

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