Event description
On Thursday, September 23 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET, please join the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center for the official launch of a groundbreaking report on operationalizing data and AI ethics in the justice domain, Getting from commitment to content in AI and data ethics: Justice and explainability.
There is widespread awareness among researchers, companies, policymakers, and the public that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data raises challenges involving justice, privacy, autonomy, transparency, and accountability. Organizations are increasingly expected to address these and other ethical issues. In response, many companies, non-governmental organizations, and governmental entities have adopted AI or data ethics frameworks and principles meant to demonstrate a commitment to addressing the challenges posed by AI and, crucially, guide organizational efforts to develop and implement AI in socially and ethically responsible ways.
However, articulating values, ethical concepts, and general principles is only the first step—and in many ways the easiest one—in addressing AI and data ethics challenges. The harder work is moving from values, concepts, and principles to substantive, practical commitments that are action-guiding and measurable. Without this, adoption of broad commitments and principles amounts to little more than platitudes and “ethics washing.” The ethically problematic development and use of AI and big data will continue, and industry will be seen by policymakers, employees, consumers, clients, and the public as failing to make good on its own stated commitments.
The next step in moving from general principles to impacts is to clearly and concretely articulate what justice, privacy, autonomy, transparency, and explainability actually involve and require in particular contexts. The primary objectives of this report are to:
- demonstrate the importance and complexity of moving from general ethical concepts and principles to action-guiding substantive content;
- provide detailed discussion of two centrally important and interconnected ethical concepts, justice and transparency; and
- indicate strategies for moving from general ethical concepts and principles to more specific substantive content and ultimately to operationalizing those concepts.
Featuring
John Basl, PhD
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Northeastern University
Kirk Bresniker
Chief Architect/Fellow/VP
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Joseph T. Bonivel Jr., PhD
Nonresident Senior Fellow, GeoTech Center
Atlantic Council
Ronald Sandler, PhD
Professor of Philosophy; Chair, Department of Philosophy and Religion; Director, Ethics Institute
Northeastern University
Steven Tiell
Nonresident Senior Fellow, GeoTech Center
Atlantic Council
Eleanor “Nell” Watson
Nonresident Senior Fellow, GeoTech Center
Atlantic Council
Hosted by
Julian Mueller-Kaler
Resident Fellow, GeoTech Center
Atlantic Council
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