Skip to main content

#ethics21 - Ethics, Size and Influence

After lurking casually for a few weeks (my training schedule always conflicted with the live discussions) I was finally able to attend one of the twice weekly zoom calls that Stephen Downes facilitates as part of Ethics, Analytics and the Duty of Care.  It was time well-spent.

Since I've been "invisible" for most of the course, I mostly listened. There were numerous insights that sparked and endless trail of considerations. 

One main point: our AI will be as ethical as we and society are (Downes). But what if the AI gets ahead of us? What if artificial intelligence moves from mimicking our own ethics (as varied as they are) into creating its own?  As the AI evolves (as Sherida pointed out) who claims the discussion? Who manages the management? We may well find ourselves governed by an ethic with didn't choose.

I kept thinking of the article from Wired, The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete,  which shows how ethics is influenced by the sheer speed and massive volume of disruption as organizations have begun to rely more on data, that data has taken over directing the course. Apparently, if the data set is large enough "we" feel comfortable simply abandoning the old caution that "correlation is not causality" with the new acceptance that, since it is so massive, "correlation is enough." That makes me uncomfortable, but then so does the power of so much data. AI can simply decide much faster than humans.

Some of the interesting questions raised during our discussion:

  • Is there such a thing as "society" or does everything get done by individuals and groups? (Mark Wilson)
  • Are we reaching a point (massive crowd share?) when "society" IS acting as ONE?
  • How do we (and how should we) feel about Autonomous Armed Quadropeds? (we decided not to refer to these as Robot Dogs)
  • Are non-players (those who don't care to influence the ethics of it all) excluded?
  • Are ethics independent from consensus or even concordance?
  • Does all of this massive shifting feed the desire for control, perhaps by one person or a powerful few?
  • How will AI handle deviance? Will it tend to zero out deviance?
After Mark raised that last question, Stephen gave a long explorative answer which,  convinced me that AI will not, ultimately, zero out deviance - because deviance will arise in response to a loss of influence. I drew this in my notes in response:

#ethics21 notes


The short answer is "no, AI will not zero out deviance." I'm not sure my chart clarifies this, but I find hope in thinking that ethics is always open to our input, small as it may be, and that any tool that can be used can be used by opposing forces.

If those opposing forces were directly equal, as Downes pointed out, we'd achieve stasis. But, stasis is NOT the way of the universe. Change is.

The same tools (even neutral tools) are subject to use by competing agendas.

We look forward to future iterations of this MOOC. As more people join the discussion utilizing the resources that Stephen has so diligently gathered, the program will grow ever more robust, and perhaps, influential in helping create a world of learning built on ethics we can live with and embrace.

-- doug smith



key words:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Leading Relationships

While looking for something else, l  found this quote: "Appreciate you without judging. Join you without invading, Invite you without demanding. Leave you without guilt." --  Virginia Satir It reminded me that part of a leader's role is in leading relationships. That's not the same as directing or controlling them. Leading relationships has more to do with taking personal responsibility for what you bring to a relationship -- whether that's at work, in the community, at home...anywhere. Relationships can not be taken for granted. To truly lead, we must remain attentive to the kinds of relationships we are co-creating. Appreciate you without judging We don't always have the answer, but we usually think that we do. Effective leaders listen with their whole being. We bring our soul to the game. We wait to be touched before reaching out to correct. We appreciate and allow for differences.  Courageous leaders correct dangerous situations, but hold ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is It Really Your Problem?

Just because someone tries to give you a problem doesn't make it yours. Leaders get shoved problems all the time. Because your good at solving things, people are inclined to help you with more work. Do you really want more work? One of the first jobs of a high performance leader is to develop the people on the team. Teach them to resolve conflict. Train them to solve problems. Help them achieve their goals (but don't achieve them for them). It takes more time. It takes more patience. It's the centered, high performance approach to leadership. Building your team frees you up to stay strategic. Building your team makes your team not only more effective but also happier. Isn't that what you want? So the next time you see a little reverse-delegation heading your way, cut it off at the pass. And pass it right back. -- Doug Smith
Post a Comment
Read more

The Benefits of Supervisory Training

When was the last time you had any leadership training? How often do the supervisors in your organization get training? If you are like most organizations, it's never enough. Some teams go without any supervisory training at all and expect supervisors and managers to learn as they go, on the job. Unfortunately, while it is memorable to learn from your mistakes, it comes at a high cost. People get tired. People leave. Important accounts go away. Customers complain. And teams struggle without the skills and knowledge it takes to build cohesive teams that are capable of solving problems, improving performance and achieving goals. Admittedly, I can be expected to support training since I'm in the business. Still, take a closer look at your own leadership career and decide for yourself. Are leaders better off with more training and development or with less? Supervisory training can generate benefits that pay off long after the training is over. Here are just a few of the things sup...
11 comments
Read more

The Front Range Leadership Vision

What is your organization's vision?   All of your strategic direction and clarity begins with an inspiring, articulate vision. It should be something worth striving for and something that prods you on even when times are difficult. Your vision should prevent you from wandering into endless distraction. It should focus and energize everyone who comes into contact with it. High Performance Leadership is the official blog of Front Range Leadership, a metro Denver area leadership development company. Our vision: Developing centered leadership with courage, creativity, compassion, and clarity. From time to time I'll be writing more about that and what it means, not only to FRL but also to you as a leader. What does it mean, and what does it take to develop courage, creativity, compassion and clarity. Why are they so important to high performance leadership? And what exactly is centered leadership? Stay tuned and drop by for the conversation.  -- Douglas Brent Sm...
Post a Comment
Read more

Compassion Does Not Require You To Be A Victim

Is it possible to be too compassionate? I suppose that it depends on what you mean by compassionate. Certainly, we owe it to other living beings (and I include all living beings in that, not just people) kindness, grace, caring, and working to create tolerable or better living conditions. We are fundamentally here to help others. But that does not mean that we need do anything anyone asks. We need not become a victim. Some people are in need beyond our capacity to provide that need. Some people take advantage of our desire to help. Some people (gasp!) simply can't be trusted. I come from a tradition of faith that says help anyway, and I believe that is best. Help anyway. Do what we can. But...and maybe I'm going out on a limb here...but not to the point of becoming a victim. Sometimes we must say no. Sometimes we must walk away. Compassion does not require foolishness. We are not required to surrender our selves when evil prevails. Please do not misunderstand me. I ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Laugh!

Do you laugh out loud? People have all kinds of laughs. Some are very quiet. One of my best friends can laugh without making any noise at all. I like a laugh that makes a lot of noise. I like the sound of life in its finest ripping thru the air with a boisterous happiness unmatched by any regulations. Laughter says so much. It tells us that things are funny, things are good, things work out, and that even the toughest events, given time, can turn into big laughs. Laughter is good for the creative spirit. When we laugh, we release enough stress to open up space for more creativity, more compassion, more clarity, even more courage. Laughter helps, laughter builds, laughter releases. High performance leaders know how to laugh, and they laugh often. It's fuel for your success. Find something worth laughing at today, and let it rip. You'll feel good about it, I'm sure. -- Doug Smith
2 comments
Read more

No Complete Failure

"Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker." -- Zig Zigler You know that we can learn from our mistakes. You might also know that failure carries many valuable lessons. I like the expression that comes from NLP (Neurolistic Programing) "there is no failure, only feedback." There's always something to learn. Any effort that results in learning is not a complete failure. So it's up to us. While we would never choose to fail at anything (oh horrors!) sometimes we will. Whether we learn or not is completely up to us. Find the learning. Find the success. What have you learned today? -- Doug Smith
Post a Comment
Read more

High Performance Leaders and Criticism

I used to run away from negative thoughts. They could be mine, or someone else's. Sometimes someone close to me would bring an idea that just scared me, or bothered me, and I'd pretend to ignore it. That wasn't a good idea. Just because someone is negative doesn't mean that they're wrong. They could be wrong. They could be right. They could be far off the mark, and they could be close. We owe to them and ourselves to stay curious enough to figure it out. A negative thought includes the potential for positive action. I'm all in favor of positive action. Sometimes, a critical comment gets us going. High performance leaders are not afraid of criticism. It tells a story. It tells us about our relationships, our processes, our goals. When people express themselves, positively or negatively, until we listen they won't go away, they won't be at their best, and we won't collaborate as well as we should. Take on that criticism. Stay curious. Sometim...
Post a Comment
Read more