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Innovations in technology have always had the objective of making human life more convenient and comfortable. And for that reason, advancement in technology has always been a human aspiration and a welcome phenomenon raising few ethical questions about its use, misuse or excessive use. But, with digital technology and especially with technology driven by the force of artificial intelligence things are different. Here, the concerns are more complex and serious too.
The complexities of AI technologies relate to technical issues that arise in its use and misuse (as in the case of cyber-crimes) and how these are to be resolved is of interest to the experts in the field. But the more serious concerns are about the erosion of social and moral values that define human existence. These concerns raise questions that are broadly about ‘human dignity’ and are couched in the language of human autonomy, privacy, integrity, justice and fairness. What is worth noting is that this erosion of moral values is not only due to the misuse and abuse of digital technology (e.g., deep fake) which is understandable and perhaps remediable, but also the innocuous use of advanced digital technology based on AI models.
We are all aware of how the unavoidable sharing of personal information like mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses, date of birth, etc. is impinging on our privacy. Also, how our use of various digital platforms is unknowingly influencing our beliefs, opinions, our likes and dislikes, our responses and reactions – in a sense it is shaping our personality. This is hampering our autonomy, agency, integrity, rationality, and our creativity to a large extent; all issues that in some ways harm ‘human dignity’. For, when an individual’s autonomy, agency and integrity are compromised then that individual is merely being treated as a ‘means’ (tool) for the ulterior ‘end’ (gain) of a larger entity (a company or a political outfit or even the state).
Again, the digital divide caused by the inequitable availability and accessibility of digital resources and digital competency, and its related socio-economic fall out, raise questions of digital fairness and justice where the ethical norm of a ‘level playing field’ is flouted. Of course, this last case is not an intrinsic fault of the technology per se, but nonetheless until there is a remedy for the ‘divide’, ‘over digitization’ of society will harm the human dignity of some. These issues and concerns are relevant to all who are affected directly or indirectly by the use of advanced digital technology.
Advanced digital technology based on AI models, point to a more fundamental difference between human values (the values that humans cherish and nurture) and the values that science and technologies aspire to achieve. Scientific values of objectivity, accuracy, consistency, speed and the ilk are grounded in human rationality and pursued in the advancement of science and technology. Scientific and technological enterprise always aims at achieving these values in its attempts to arrive at highly probable generalizations about human behaviour. However, human behaviour is, as is human nature, often unpredictable since it is the outcome of both rational and emotional elements of the human mind. And though human rationality is often more predictable, human emotions are not always so. And to the extent that the latter determines human behaviour, it becomes unpredictable. That is why human values often fail to align with the values promoted by science and technology.
Further, AI technologies not only aim at mimicking human thinking as it is but also aspire to surpass it in accuracy, speed, consistency, objectivity and so on. But, human thinking is always tempered by human emotions. They work in ‘tune’, but often ‘out of tune’ that result in human follies and aberrations and that is not only normal and natural, but not totally unexpected either. It is also not clear why surpassing the functionalities of the average human mind must be touted as the aim of technology, especially at the cost of human diversity and human dignity.
With social and moral issues surrounding the use of AI based modern technologies coming to the forefront, the obvious question that arises is regarding regulating the ‘healthy’ and ‘humane’ use of digital technology in the age of digitization. How can we reign in the use of AI where it will serve human ends in a ‘humane’ way without turning the ‘end’ into a ‘means’ for its own purposeless ends? Perhaps, AI technologies should limit the use of AI for mechanical, ‘assembly line’ repetitive functions where data mining and data analysis can produce accurate, consistent and objective results at great speed. That will help in making human life more convenient and comfortable. But, jobs requiring the role of human emotions and feelings, empathy and compassion cannot always be accomplished by data mining, analysis and generalizations. To aspire to accomplish that is to enter into the realm of the unpredictable. But, fortunately, unpredictability is not a value in the digital world. So, perhaps, we can feel reassured, after all!