Taxonomy of Ethical Dilemmas in Artificial Intelligence

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping every aspect of our lives. Its usage is becoming ubiquitous in various applications, from smartphones to self-driving cars (Liu et al., 2021; Saxena et al., 2021). As algorithms become more sophisticated and autonomous, we have trusted them to make crucial decisions on our behalf (Candrian & Schere, 2022). AI technology is already capable of automating decisions, such as medical diagnostics and smart manufacturing, that humans would typically do (Bohr, & Memarzadeh, 2020; Arnold, 2021).

It has been suggested that humanity's future will depend on the implementation of solid moral standards in AI systems, given that these systems may, at some point, either match or supersede human capabilities (Torresen, 2018). Nevertheless, the fast adoption of AI has created new ethical dilemmas for researchers, governments, and users (Goyal et al., 2021). Thus, we are entering a new frontier for AI ethics, whereby discussion between researchers, industry, and the government is needed to develop AI ethical standards in an AI-driven world.

The AI dilemmas stem from growing fears that AI results in job losses, economic disparity, sparking widespread social unrest, to more significant and philosophical concerns such as weaponized AI drones (Sujan et al., 2021). Almost every significant corporation presently has AI systems and considers deploying AI a critical component of their business operations. Private firms also use AI to make decisions in multidisciplinary issues, including healthcare, job recruitment, credit risk, and even criminology (Verdicchio & Perin, 2022).

With much deployment of AI in our daily lives, ethical dilemmas need to be addressed. For instance, AI biasness is an active ethical issue of concern that needs more research and debate (Tjoa et al., 2021). Consequently, there are currently no widely accepted guidelines or accountability frameworks, despite witnessing the rampant use of drones, facial recognition technology, fingerprint scanners, driverless cars, and other notable AI advancements that pose severe ethical concerns (Hagendorff, 2020). What's more concerning is when governments use AI and machine learning to make policy and legislative decisions, such as using these technologies in crime decision-making and the justice system (Bohr et al., 2020).

Since AI is so complex, determining liability isn't trivial. This is especially true when AI has severe implications for human lives, like piloting vehicles, determining prison sentences, or automating university admissions (Toth et al., 2022). These decisions will affect real people for the rest of their lives, and it's unrealistic to expect AI will never make a mistake.

It's within the arguments mentioned above that this chapter presents and discusses the current issues on AI ethical concerns to stimulate more research in this domain. We must understand the ethical and societal considerations of the technology so that we can develop trustworthy systems that include assurances of transparency, explainability, and fair AI systems.