Universities Are Making Ethics a Key Focus of Artificial Intelligence Research; Insight Into Diversity, August 16, 2022

Lisa O'Malley , Insight Into Diversity; Universities Are Making Ethics a Key Focus of Artificial Intelligence Research

"As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more commonplace in our lives, many activists and academics have raised concerns about the ethics of this technology, including issues with maintaining privacy and preventing bias and discrimination...

“The subject of ethics and justice in technology development is incredibly urgent — it’s on fire,” Sydney Skybetter, a senior lecturer in theater arts and performance studies at Brown, explained in a recent university news release. Skybetter is one of three faculty members leading an innovative new course titled Choreorobotics 0101 in the computer science department. The class allows students with experience in computer science, engineering, dance, and theater to merge their interests by learning how to choreograph a 30-second dance routine for a pair of robots provided by the company Boston Dynamics. The goal of the course is to give these students — most of whom will go on to careers in the tech industry — the opportunity to engage in discussions about the purpose of robotics and AI technology and how they can be used to “minimize harm and make a positive impact on society,” according to the release."

Control AI now or brace for nightmare future, experts warn; CNN, February 21, 2018

Sherisse Pham, CNN; Control AI now or brace for nightmare future, experts warn

"...Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk issued a dire warning, suggesting the race between different countries for AI superiority could cause a new world war.

Cambridge's [Seán] Ó hÉigeartaigh described a somewhat less apocalyptic vision.

"We live in a world that could become fraught with day-to-day hazards from the misuse of AI," he said in a statement. "We need to take ownership of the problems -- because the risks are real."

The report, which was also backed by Musk's Open AI research institute and the Center for a New American Security, isn't all doom and gloom.

The authors acknowledge AI has many potential benefits, but they are urging governments and companies to take steps now to reduce the risks of it being misused."

Critical, But Overlooked: Ethics Is a Tough Sell to Funders. Is That About to Change?; Inside Philanthropy, 1/17/17

Mike Scutari, Inside Philanthropy; 

Critical, But Overlooked: Ethics Is a Tough Sell to Funders. Is That About to Change?

"Strong ethics may be all important to the healthy functioning of American society, but this is an area that's historically fallen through the cracks of foundation grantmaking programs. Fundraisers for ethics work routinely have to shoehorn their proposals to fit into the issue areas that foundations do care about, like public health or campaign finance reform. Individual donors play a critical role in supporting ethics research, but contributors interested in this area are hardly plentiful. If you search "ethics" in the Lilly School donor base of gifts of a million dollars and up, you'll get a mere five results...

AI is much in the news right now, and ethics giving often follows headlines. A few years back, after the financial crisis, business schools received a string of gifts aimed at teaching ethics to tomorrow's executives and financiers. But as memory of the financial crisis faded, so did this stream of money...

Indeed, if reporting persists out of Trump's Washington regarding conflicts of interest, it seems likely that the ethics field writ large will get a Trump bump when it comes to fundraising."