AI Lexicon — E

Ethical AI

As the capabilities of AI develop at a rapid pace, governments and regulatory organizations like the European Commission are focusing their attention on ethical oversight of AI technologies.

In Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, a document published in 2019, the European Commission described ethical AI as a "development, deployment and use of AI that ensures compliance with ethical norms, including fundamental rights as special moral entitlements, ethical principles and related core values."

They went onto say that "achieving Trustworthy AI requires not only compliance with the law" since the law can be out of step with technological developments and ethical norms of the day. "Individuals and society must be confident that AI systems will not cause any unintentional harm. […].

The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act of 2024 refers to "ethical principles" and states, for instance, that AI systems developed for scientific research should be used in accordance with "recognized ethical and professional standards." (za/fs)

 

Sources:

Ethics Guidelines For Trustworthy AI https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/ai-alliance-consultation.1.html (accessed October 17, 2023)

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Written and edited by: Zulfikar Abbany (za), Fred Schwaller (fs)