Artificial Intelligence Ethics

AI ethics is the field examining the moral implications of artificial intelligence — not a peripheral concern but the central challenge of the 21st century's defining technology. Key issues: algorithmic bias (systems trained on biased data perpetuate and amplify discrimination — facial recognition with 35% error rate on dark-skinned women vs. 1% on light-skinned men; predictive policing amplifying existing racial disparities); autonomy and accountability (who is responsible when an AI system causes harm?); privacy (surveillance AI enabling authoritarian control); labor displacement (automation eliminating jobs faster than creating them); and existential risk (superintelligent AI potentially pursuing goals misaligned with human values). The 'alignment problem' — ensuring AI systems pursue goals humans actually want, not just the goals specified — is considered by some researchers the most important technical problem in history. Geoffrey Hinton, the 'godfather of deep learning,' resigned from Google in 2023 specifically to warn about AI existential risk. Regulatory responses: EU AI Act (2024, first comprehensive AI regulation); US executive orders; calls for international AI governance comparable to nuclear weapons treaties.