Algorithmic Ethics
Algorithms & Society series
With new powerful technologies come enhanced capacities to act, which in turn require new ethical concepts for guiding just and fair actions in the use of these new capabilities. The new algorithmic regimes, for their ethical articulation, build on prior ethics discourses in computer and information ethics, as well as the philosophical traditions of ethics generally. Especially as our technologies become more autonomous, operating alongside us in the home, workplace or on the roads, ethics has the potential to limit negative effects and shape the new technical terrains in a more humanly recognizable way.
Chapter 1 — “Visions of human-centered artificial intelligence — Relations with ethics and power” by Lilla Vicsek and Tamás Tóth– unpacks the concept of ‘human-centered AI,’ which is gaining in popularity. AI ethics have become more prominent in recent years, inspiring many new AI approaches, many of which, like the idea of ‘human-centered AI,’ are conceptually and operationally flawed. First, this new concept tends to frame humanity monolithically, arguing that all societies face the same challenges. Second, human-centered AI is seen as primarily serving the Global North. Finally, capitalist system disparities are hardly discussed in the institutions under study.
Chapter 2 — “Values, Work and Well-being in Artificial Intelligence Society: Exacerbating Dilemmas in Human Resource Management”’ by Johnny Långstedt and James Arrowsmith– show how AI and the ‘internet of things’ are transforming work. New intelligent technologies will change industry logic, making labor uncertain for many and while generating wealth for the few. Workplace changes have major cultural and organizational effects as they can increase worker stress and human resource management tensions, affecting well-being and forcing major operational changes throughout businesses and society.
Chapter 3 — “In the forefront of code: Ethics in decentralized finance” by Andreas Langenohl– explores how DeFi and blockchain technologies reject assumptions about human trust and norm-obedient behavior, offering technological solutions to financial coordination challenges and using platforms to encode norm-obedient behavior. The chapter analyzes the ethical consequences using Michel Foucault’s conception of ethics as distinct from morality and norm-obedience. That view sees ethics as a reflection on moral self-conduct before moral or technical code.
Chapter 4 — “Audio Beacon Technologies, Surveillance and the Digital Paradox” by Julian Iliev– discusses audio beacon technologies in our cellphones and their consequences for individuals in contemporary society. This technology’s concealed surveillance is investigated through the privacy literature and George Orwell’s novel 1984. This author recommends two general strategies to limit audio beacons’ harmful effects: 1) immediate individual actions and 2) long-term government legislation to improve privacy. This research intends to increase public knowledge, which is needed for both solutions.
Acknowledgment
The chapter summaries here have in places drawn from the authors’ chapter abstracts, the full versions of which can be found in Routledge’s online reference for the volume.
