AI Ethics : Critical Reflections on Embedding Ethical Frameworks in AI Technology

Abstract

Embedding ethical frameworks in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has been a popular topic for academic research for the past decade [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The approaches of the studies differ in how AI technology, ethics, role of technical artefacts and socio-technical aspects of AI are perceived. In addition, most studies define insufficiently what the connection between the process of embedding ethical frameworks to AI technology and the larger framework of AI ethics is. These deficiencies have caused that the concept of AI ethics and the construct of embedding ethical parameters into AI are used in an ambiguous, rather than in a complementary manner.

One reason for the ambiguity within this field of research is due to a lack of a comprehensive conceptual framework for AI ethics in general. I intend to fill this void by grounding AI ethics as a subfield of philosophy of technology and applied ethics and presenting its main issues of study by examining recognized spheres of activities through the method of levels of abstraction [8]. I put forward an initial hierarchical conceptual framework for AI ethics as an outcome. After this, I discuss the connection between the process of embedding ethical frameworks in AI and the larger AI ethics framework, leading to presenting basic requirements for the sphere of activity hereafter known as embedded ethics.