ACM50 Talk
Good morning. I would to frame the issues around 4 case studies that have been in the media about ethical and moral debates around CS and AI research.
Onedilemma discussed in the media by the emergence self-driving car technologyis whether the AI navigation system shouldendanger the lives of four passengers in the car to save apedestrian. This is a special case of the problem already discussed by Michael Sandel in his book on What is the right thing 10 years ago? One philosophical view is the correct course of action is the one that leads to greatest good for the greatest number of people. This is the gist of the Utilitarian theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the 19th century. While it may be an acceptable option in many cases, Sandel points out that “in the limit” such a rule could lead to bizarre actions like killing a person so as to harvest organs that might save 4 lives.
A second such conundrum is the subject matter of a recent movie Eye in the Sky.An AI based vision and robotic system enables a humming bird robot to spy on a terrorist location leading to the dilemma whether to sacrifice an innocent girl selling bread in the adjacent street so as to prevent a suicide bomber killing 100s of people later. Helen Murrin character helps to manipulate the data largely based on the “greatest good” principle leading to the death of an innocent bystander. Well-meaning people can disagree on what is the right thing to do in this case. At CMU we had a debate about this specific movie and there was not a consensus of what is the right thing to do? For guidance we might look to 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Hetakes an absolutist perspective that an action is either right or wrong totally independent of the context and consequences.
The third example is the dilemma associated with saving someone like Steve Jobs by assigning a higher priority for organ transplant ahead of other less important people. Aristotle says someone may deserve preferential treatment from considerations of virtue and morally deserving. Kant and Rawls take just the opposite point of view and suggest all such decisions should be made from considerations of justice and right behind a veil of ignorance. The quotation from Bible “"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's"” seems to suggest everyone should get what they are entitled to. AI software and algorithms for kidney exchange developed by TuomasSandholm, Professor of AI at CMU is currently used by United Network for Organ-sharingto serve over 66% of the transplant centers in the US. Several ethical issues arise in this context including coercion, privacy, confidentiality, exploitation and commercialization. Conventional ‘honor systems’ are rejected because they are coercive and override autonomy. They have evolved a concept of limited kidney exchange chains as an ethically preferable means for protecting nondirected donors and bridge donors from coercion and minimizing ‘backing out’.
Lastly we come to Elephant in the Room: the existential threat predicted by Musk and others posed by advances in AI. Will Robots take over the world? Will dramatic progress in AI lead human extinction? I tend to be an optimist on such issues. I have good news, bad news, and good news.
The good news is No, Robots won’t take over the world and there will be no extinction of humankind. The bad news is, homo-sapiens like you and me willacquire super human capabilities. Assisted by 1000s of Cognitive Assistants, some of us will be able to do a month’s work in an hour. But in everyday life, we eat the same food, wear the same clothes and engage in the same mating rituals. The bad news is 99% of the people won’t have jobs. The good news is 99% of us won’t have to work for a living. Instead of waitingto grt to heaven after death and afterlife, you can begin to enjoy Heaven on Earth in this life time. You already see examples of this in oil-rich countries like Qatar and Norway. Qatar has the highest Per Capita Income of over $100,000. Universal Basic Income provided by government makes it unnecessary for people to work. Everyone takes off to French or Spanish Riviera for a long summer vacation. Imagine a world in which Robots and Cogs produce unlimited products and services needed by all humanity. Most can retire to all-inclusive resorts for long period at a time. I was looking at the promises of afterlife in heaven promised by various religions. I can assure you our lot will be better here and now, not in some mythical after-life.
Thank you. I will be happy to expand and justify any of my assertions during the discussion.