Ethics in AI: Challenges and Responsibilities in the Digital Era

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field whose goal is to revolutionize many aspects of our lives by making them easier and more automated. However, as AI systems become more powerful, there is a growing need to ensure that they are developed and used in an ethical and responsible way.

But what is ethical AI and why is it so important?  

What is ethical AI? 

Ethical AI refers to the development and use of AI systems that align with social ethical principles and values. It involves designing AI systems that are transparent, accountable, and respectful of the rights and dignity of individuals. Ethical AI also involves ensuring that AI systems are not biased or discriminatory and that do not harm or disadvantage certain individuals or groups. 

Whether AI is considered ethical or not depends on several factors. In general, AI is considered ethical if it is used responsibly and its systems are designed to respect human rights, privacy, and security.  

Some of the ethical principles that have been proposed to guide the development and use of AI include transparency in algorithms and decisions, fairness and non-discrimination, privacy and protection of personal data, system security and reliability, responsibility and accountability, and collaboration with humans.  

Read more:

A Temporary Pause in AI Development: Is Artificial Intelligence Arousing Fear Among Experts? 

Why is ethical AI important? 

Ethical AI is important for several reasons: 

• Protecting the rights and dignity of individuals: Artificial Intelligence systems have the potential to impact people in significant ways. Ethical AI ensures that the impact is positive and respectful of the rights and dignity of individuals. 

• Building trust: ethical AI builds trust among users, stakeholders, and the public. It can help prevent negative or violent reactions to AI systems and increase their adoption. 

• Avoiding harm and negative consequences: ethical AI ensures that AI systems do not harm or disadvantage individuals or groups. It can help prevent negative consequences such as discriminatory outcomes, privacy violations, or unintended outcomes. 

• Promoting social responsibility: ethical AI promotes social responsibility by ensuring that AI systems are designed and used in a way that benefits society as a whole and does not harm it.  

How can ethical AI be achieved? 

Achieving ethical AI requires a multifaceted approach involving technical and non-technical considerations. These are some of the strategies that promote ethical AI: 

• Designing AI systems with ethical principles in mind: AI systems should be designed using ethical principles, such as transparency, accountability, and respect for the rights and dignity of individuals. 

• Addressing bias and discrimination: AI systems must be designed and tested to ensure that they are not biased or discriminatory and that they are capable of assigning genders according to context.  

• Ensuring transparency: AI systems must be transparent and explainable to users and stakeholders. People must be able to understand how the system works and how it makes decisions in order to use it responsibly.  

• Building safeguards and supervising: AI systems must be subject to supervision and regulation to ensure that they are used responsibly and ethically. 

• Involving stakeholders and the public: stakeholders and the public should be involved in discussions on the development and use of AI systems to ensure that their concerns and perspectives are taken into account. 

Countries are already taking action 

The growing hype around ChatGPT since its release in 2022 has made experts, professionals, and executives consider the dangers of this technology on a worldwide level.  

On March 31, 2023, Italy banned OpenAI's ChatGPT for not complying with data protection regulations and not being used correctly. Other EU and non-EU countries, such as France, Germany, Russia, China, etc., are also considering banning it. 

The European Union is working on an Artificial Intelligence Act that seeks to regulate the use of this technology and define what types of AI can have social consequences. 

In addition, this Artificial Intelligence Act also contemplates the creation of one regulator per country in charge of supervising and regulating the use of AI. This would allow compliance with established norms and standards and prevent misuse of the technology.  

Therefore, what the EU intends to do with this law is to create a regulation with the aim of protecting the rights and freedom of individuals.

Pangeanic, an advocate for ethical and safe AI 

Ethics is an important and growing area of focus in the development and use of Artificial Intelligence systems. By developing and using Artificial Intelligence systems that align with ethical principles and values, we can ensure that this technology is a positive force for good in our lives and society. 

At Pangeanic, we implement AI in our Natural Language Processing processes. We develop our language technology solutions and, thanks to Artificial Intelligence, we are able to adapt our products to our clients' needs. 

We comply with ISO 27001 (Information Security), which makes us a responsible and secure company. In addition, we have created our own platform (ECO) for Anonymization (Masker) and Machine Translation (PangeaMT) services. It is a secure environment in which to carry out any type of activity. Everything is directly masked so that personal data automatically becomes private.  

We have integrated the GPT-4 model into our ECO platform, creating a layer that allows us to anonymize users' personal data, thus ensuring that private information is automatically anonymized when sent, guaranteeing a private and secure environment. We are aware of the changes and problems in this ever-evolving society and are working to bring about positive change. We research and apply solutions for gender bias in our MT processes, allowing us to develop customized solutions adapted to our clients' needs, and giving them the opportunity to decide the path that AI should take in their tasks.  

At Pangeanic, we care about the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence and we strive for a positive change in its application.