Ethics and Purpose in the Age of AI - Navigating Meaning and Responsibility in an Automated World

Artificial intelligence (AI) undoubtedly offers our generation a significant opportunity for progress. What is now being called the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ (Nosta, 2023), is presenting new opportunities and an economic transformation. Businesses can improve the productivity of processes, make more informed decisions, and even develop new products and services. Whilst confined to routine and repetitive tasks for now nearly all jobs could ultimately be at risk. This transition could lead to widespread inequality and unemployment, particularly in areas like retail, public transport, and manufacturing.

These threats have been addressed in multiple ways, often through the suggestion that we may no longer need to work as part of our day-to-day lives. Elon Musk suggests that we will achieve universal high income and only have the option, instead of the need, to work in the future (TheAIGRID, 2024). As good as it sounds to have all of our needs met, be they food, housing, resources, etc., many philosophers are beginning to question the impact of this technology on our individual and collective purposes and mental well-being. This raises key concerns given the attitude in our culture of work being more than just a money-making exercise; even at our university, many individuals are seeking the validation of a career in their dream job and are studying courses that will help them achieve this goal which is explored further by Ryan Barton of Mainstay Technologies. (MStech, 2021) . Given these considerations of personal value and achievement, would individuals feel fulfilled with everything immediately provided to them, without structure to their lives, a job to occupy each day, or the encouragement to stretch themselves to their full potential? 

Furthermore, there have been an increasing number of AI applications. For example, it has been used in schools to improve education as observed in the first AI school in China (The Wall Street Journal, 2019) – about which it can be argued that students are being forced into perfect educational standards. These students are even monitored on levels of attention, which reduces the allowance for individual creativity and the ability for the individual to learn in addition to the threats raised by easier plagiarism  (Moore, 2024). This raises key concerns for an individual's ethics and our collective responsibility concerning AI. We must ask whether we are changing all our traditional notions about the global economy and altering ourselves as individuals for this magic solution to our struggles.

Multiple well-being and safety concerns can be paired with our responsibility regarding AI. AI- crime and the misuse of these tools is a large threat to us and the next generation. Consider recent scandals in which individuals are blackmailed using deep-fake videos and have been extorted out of large amounts of money. The fraud implications alone would cost the economy billions and as advancement continues such crimes are becoming harder to track and regulate against. 

These changes are vastly different from the current societal models seen worldwide: if we cannot transition into this new society and infrastructure as quickly as Moore's law would predict AI to grow, how can we prepare for the impacts they will have on our economy and personal safety/wellbeing and what is our responsibility to these advancements in technology? Many of these nuanced issues are becoming more widespread. They should be at the forefront of our minds to prevent us from becoming lost in the excitement of this new era in our economy and its tools. 

As AI continues to evolve, it is imperative that we not only embrace its potential but also work proactively to ensure ethical standards, new models of work, and safeguards are in place against its misuse. Only then can we ensure that AI and other latest tools are enhancing, rather than diminishing us.

By Bel Porter

Bibliography:

Moore, B. 2023, ‘I massively regret using AI to cheat at uni’. BBC News. [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz04emrxp4xo (Accessed: 15 November 2024)

MSTech. 2021,  Work + Meaning. What is work’s true purpose, and how do we pursue it?.  [Online] Available at: https://www.mstech.com/true-purpose-of-work-meaning/ (Accessed: 27 November 2024)

Nosta,  J. 2023, The 5th industrial revolution: The dawn of the cognitive age. Psychology Today. [Online] Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-digital-self/202310/the-5th-industrial-revolution-the-dawn-of-the-cognitive-age (Accessed: 16 November 2024)

TheAIGRID. 2024, Elon Musk - It Will Be Universal High Income.  [Online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g13zI5tknM (Accessed: 14 November 2024)

The Wall Street Journal. 2019, How China Is Using Artificial Intelligence In Classrooms. [Online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMLsHI8aV0g (Accessed: 15 November 2024)