Get the FREE DIGITAL BOOK: The Case for Killer Robots
Mind Matters Reporting on Natural and Artificial Intelligence

CategoryEthics

Asian temple dragon
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
April 5, 2020
Categorized
Ethics, Global Technology, Social Media, Technocracy
Tagged
, , , ,

The Dragon’s Deception: Conspiracy Theories and False Numbers

China’s global attempt to rewrite the history of coronavirus (COVID-19) is running up against incriminating evidence
Heather Zeiger
April 5, 2020

The Chinese Communist Party has touted the superiority of an authoritarian government over a democratic one in handling the virus outbreak. But American intelligence sources say that it was the punishment that local officials might receive from the authoritarian system that led to the initial coverup of the outbreak.

Read More ›
Self-driving electric semi truck driving on highway. 3D rendering image.
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
March 24, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Ethics
Tagged
, ,

Star self-driving truck firm shuts; AI not safe enough soon enough

CEO Stefan Seltz-Axmacher is blunt about the cause: Machine learning “doesn’t live up to the hype”
Brendan Dixon
March 24, 2020

Starsky Robotics was not just another startup overwhelmed by business realities. In 2019, it was named one of the world’s 100 most promising start-ups (CNBC) and one to watch by FreightWaves, a key trucking industry publication. But the AI breakthroughs did not appear.

Read More ›
Panoramic aerial view of St Peter's square in Vatican, Rome Italy
Type
post
Author
Jay Richards
Date
March 22, 2020
Categorized
Business and Finance, Ethics, Religion
Tagged
, , , , ,

Why Does the Vatican Need Microsoft?

Should the Church really partner with IBM and Microsoft to make pronouncements on tech regulation?
Jay Richards
March 22, 2020

When giant corporate actors like IBM and Microsoft promote “transparency and compliance with ethical principles?”, we run the risk that they are helping to craft regulations that hinder future competitors (“regulatory capture”). Rather than partner with them in making statements, the Church should stay clear.

Read More ›
Coronavirus pandemic - Cleaning and Disinfection. Professional teams for disinfection efforts. Infection prevention and control of epidemic. Protective suit and mask
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
March 19, 2020
Categorized
Ethics, Medicine and Health, Technocracy
Tagged
, , , ,

China: Rewriting the History of COVID-19

Making the government the improbable hero of the tale
Heather Zeiger
March 19, 2020

Chinese scientists worked together swiftly and seamlessly to sequence the virus, (completed February 25), even as the government was downplaying the extent of the problem and silencing doctors who attempted to warn colleagues and the public. The Wuhan public erupted in anger when the government demanded a show of gratitude for its efforts rather than theirs.

Read More ›
Remote jobs for public health concept. Computers, pills and medical mask
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
March 17, 2020
Categorized
Business and Finance, Ethics, Global Technology, Medicine and Health, Work
Tagged
, , , , , ,

COVID-19: Do Quarantine Rules Apply to Mega-Geniuses?

How did Elon Musk, who has a cozy relationship with China, get his upscale car factory classified as an essential business during the pandemic?
Jonathan Bartlett
March 17, 2020

If we are going to hold some people up as business icons, why should it be those who—in the present COVID-19 troubles—have relations with China that necessarily raise questions?

Read More ›
Businessman with psychopathic behaviors
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
March 16, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Machine Learning
Tagged
,

All AI’s Are Psychopaths

We can use them but we can’t trust them with moral decisions. They don’t care why
Brendan Dixon
March 16, 2020

Building an AI entails moving parts of our intelligence into a machine. We can do that with rules, (simplified) virtual worlds, statistical learning… We’ll likely create other means as well. But, as long as “no one is home”—that is, the machines lack minds—gaps will remain and those gaps, without human oversight, can put us at risk.

Read More ›
Streetcar in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
March 11, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics
Tagged
, ,

The “Moral Machine” Is Bad News for AI Ethics

Despite the recent claims of its defenders, there is no way we can outsource moral decision-making to an automated intelligence
Brendan Dixon
March 11, 2020

Here’s the dilemma: The Moral Machine (the Trolley Problem, updated) feels necessary because the rules by which we order our lives are useless with automated vehicles. Laws embody principles that we apply. Machines have no mind by which to apply the rules. Instead researchers must train them with millions of examples and hope the machine extracts the correct message… 

Read More ›
Joyful happy boy hugging a robot
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
March 3, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics
Tagged
, , , , , ,

Can Robots Be Programmed To Care About Us?

Some researchers think it is only a matter of the right tweaks
Denyse O'Leary
March 3, 2020

The quest is a curious blend of forlorn hope fueled by half-acknowledged hype and resolute denial of the most serious problems. Also by sometimes systematic confusion as to what, precisely, we are talking about.

Read More ›
Babys playing together.
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
March 2, 2020
Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind
Tagged
, , ,

Are Infants Born Kind? New Research Says Yes

The trouble is, the research is haunted by conflicting definitions of altruism
Denyse O'Leary
March 2, 2020

If human infants show apparent intellectual qualities like compassion earlier than we might have expected but chimpanzees don’t, we must accept that humans are fundamentally different from chimpanzees. Conflicting definitions of altruism cloud the picture.

Read More ›
Beautiful bored people bored isolated on pink background
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
February 25, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Work
Tagged
, , , ,

Are Facial Expressions a Clear, Simple Basis for Hiring Decisions?

Marketing AI to employers to analyze facial expressions ignores the fact that correlation is NOT causation
Brendan Dixon
February 25, 2020

Have you heard of the Law of the Instrument? It just means, to quote one formulation, “He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail.” All any given problem needs is a good pounding. This is a risk with AI, as with amateur carpentry. But with AI, it can get you into more serious trouble. Take hiring, for instance.

Read More ›
Photo by Eugene Triguba
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
February 13, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics
Tagged
,

AI has changed our relationship to our tools

If a self-driving car careens into a storefront, who’s to blame? A new Seattle U course explores ethics in AI
Brendan Dixon
February 13, 2020

A free course at Seattle University addresses the “meaning of ethics in AI.” I’ve signed up for it. One concern that I hope will be addressed is: We must not abdicate to machines the very thing that only we can do: Treat other people fairly.

Read More ›
A concept of a city being hit by a weapon of mass destruction suffering terrible consequences caused by terrorism or an act of war by a hostile country launching a devastating attack with atomic bomb
Type
post
Author
Bradley A. Alaniz
Date
February 5, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Military
Tagged
,

What Can We Learn from History About Stopping AI Warfare?

International agreements can work, but only under certain circumstances
Bradley A. Alaniz and Jed Macosko
February 5, 2020

Historically, the key difference between the international weapons ban agreements that have been honored and the agreements that have not been honored is that the honored ones involved weapons of mass destruction (WMD). An effective ban on malicious AI requires the global community to first agree that such a form (or use) of AI would be a WMD.

Read More ›
Middle-aged man calling his attorney for legal assistance
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 24, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Technocracy, Work
Tagged
,

AI in the Courtroom: Will a Robot Sentence You?

Some experts think AI might be fairer than human judgment. Others are not so sure
News
January 24, 2020

One Superior Court judge has warned that many cases don’t come down to information alone, which is all AI can do. Law professor David DeWolf also expresses concern about increasing dependence upon law—a form of coercion—to regulate human behavior, a choice that is irrelevant to the growth of AI in the courtroom.

Read More ›
Obstetric Ultrasonography Ultrasound Echography of a first month
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
January 21, 2020
Tagged
, ,

Abortion Advocate Admits in a Medical Journal That Unborn Children Feel Pain

The scientific community has for decades misrepresented the straightforward science of conception and fetal development for ideological reasons
Michael Egnor
January 21, 2020

I have cared for hundreds of premature infants and it is very clear that these very young children experience pain intensely. An innocuous needlestick in the heel to draw small amount of blood would ordinarily not be particularly painful for an adult. But a tiny infant will scream at such discomfort.

Read More ›
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
January 16, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Work
Tagged
, ,

Can We Outsource Hiring Decisions to AI and Go for Coffee Now?

I would have fired any of my hiring managers who demonstrated characteristic AI traits immediately. So why do we tolerate it coming from a machine?
Brendan Dixon
January 16, 2020

With historically low unemployment, employers are tempted to reduce costs and speed up the process using artificial intelligence (AI) systems. These systems might help but, for best results, let’s have a look at the problems they can’t solve and some that they might create.

Read More ›
Soldiers are Using Drone for Scouting During Military Operation in the Desert.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 16, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Military
Tagged
, , ,

Book at a Glance: Robert J. Marks’s Killer Robots

What if ambitious nations such as China and Iran develop lethal AI military technology but the United States does not?
News
January 16, 2020

Artificial intelligence expert Robert J. Marks tackles the contentious subject of military drones in his just-published book, The Case for Killer Robots: Why America’s Military Needs to Continue Development of Lethal AI. Many sources (30 countries, 110+ NGOs, 4500 AI experts, the UN Secretary General, the EU, and 26 Nobel Laureates) have called for these lethal AI weapons to be banned. Dr. Marks, a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University, disagrees. What if ambitious nations such as China and Iran develop lethal AI military technology but the United States does not? Nations that wish to maintain independence (sovereignty), he argues, must remain competitive in military AI. (“Advanced technology not only wins wars but gives pause to Read More ›

Robot Predicting Future With Crystal Ball
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 2, 2020
Categorized
Business and Finance, Ethics, Global Technology, Work
Tagged
, , ,

Five AI Predictions to Watch in 2020

We'll check on these a year from now
News
January 2, 2020

Some problems experts hope AI can help with may be outside AI's capacities. Some people may simply want to believe doctored images and deepfakes, for example.

Read More ›
The mankind races - ethnic and multi ethnic - scientific model - concept
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 26, 2019
Categorized
Ethics, Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy
Tagged
, , , , ,

China: DNA Phenotyping Profiles Racial Minorities

In the United States, targeting minorities means political pushback; in China, no such discussion is allowed
Heather Zeiger
December 26, 2019

While there is some merit to the idea that the population of a particular geographic region will have similar DNA patterns, this science comes with a host of assumptions that, when taken too far, crosses the line into pseudoscience.

Read More ›
Businessman Robot Hands Law Connection HUD Network
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 26, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Ethics
Tagged

2019 AI Hype Countdown #7: “Robot rights” grabs the mike

If we could make intelligent and sentient AIs, wouldn’t that mean we would have to stop programming them?
Jonathan Bartlett
December 26, 2019

AI programs are just that—programs. Nothing in such a program could make it conscious. We may as well think that if we make sci-fi life-like enough, we should start worrying about Darth Vader really taking over the galaxy.

Read More ›
thousands of umbrella in causeway bay hong kong in rainy day on august 18 2019
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 20, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Global Technology
Tagged
, , , ,

Can a Totalitarian State Advance AI?

China vs. Hong Kong provides a test case
Denyse O'Leary
December 20, 2019

George Orwell identified two characteristics of a totalitarian state that offer insight into its central intellectual weaknesses.

Read More ›