Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Standard

Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers. / Shklovski, Irina; Némethy, Carolina.

In: Information Communication and Society, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2023, p. 37-53.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Shklovski, I & Némethy, C 2023, 'Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers', Information Communication and Society, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.2014547

APA

Shklovski, I., & Némethy, C. (2023). Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers. Information Communication and Society, 26(1), 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.2014547

Vancouver

Shklovski I, Némethy C. Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers. Information Communication and Society. 2023;26(1):37-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.2014547

Author

Shklovski, Irina ; Némethy, Carolina. / Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers. In: Information Communication and Society. 2023 ; Vol. 26, No. 1. pp. 37-53.

Bibtex

@article{340e1979db7d4d208fd9855c5015e0ee,
title = "Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers",
abstract = "Discussions about AI development frequently bring up the question of ethics because it is difficult to predict how technological decisions might play out once AI systems are implemented and used in the world. Engineers of AI systems are increasingly expected to go beyond the traditions of requirement specifications, taking into account broader societal contexts and their complexities. In this paper we present findings from a hackathon event conducted with working engineers, exploring the gaps between existing guidelines and recommendations for addressing ethical issues with respect to AI technologies and the realities experienced by the engineers in practice. We found that when faced with the uncertainties of how to recognize and navigate ethical issues and challenges, engineers looked to identify the responsibilities that need to be in place to sustain trust and to hold the relevant parties to account for their misdeeds. We re-envision familiar engineering practices as nodes of certainty to accommodate the needs of responsible and ethical AI. Despite the desire for mechanisms for sustaining certainty in how to build AI technology responsibly by providing frameworks for action and accountability, there remains a need to ensure just enough spaces and opportunities to cultivate reasonable doubt. Space and capacity to doubt accepted certainties, in fact, is the very process of ethics, necessary for holding to account our standards, guidelines, and checklists as technology and society co-evolve.",
keywords = "AI development, certainty, doubt, Ethics, unfinalizability",
author = "Irina Shklovski and Carolina N{\'e}methy",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",
year = "2023",
doi = "10.1080/1369118X.2021.2014547",
language = "English",
volume = "26",
pages = "37--53",
journal = "Information, Communication & Society",
issn = "1369-118X",
publisher = "Taylor & Francis Online",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Nodes of certainty and spaces for doubt in AI ethics for engineers

AU - Shklovski, Irina

AU - Némethy, Carolina

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Discussions about AI development frequently bring up the question of ethics because it is difficult to predict how technological decisions might play out once AI systems are implemented and used in the world. Engineers of AI systems are increasingly expected to go beyond the traditions of requirement specifications, taking into account broader societal contexts and their complexities. In this paper we present findings from a hackathon event conducted with working engineers, exploring the gaps between existing guidelines and recommendations for addressing ethical issues with respect to AI technologies and the realities experienced by the engineers in practice. We found that when faced with the uncertainties of how to recognize and navigate ethical issues and challenges, engineers looked to identify the responsibilities that need to be in place to sustain trust and to hold the relevant parties to account for their misdeeds. We re-envision familiar engineering practices as nodes of certainty to accommodate the needs of responsible and ethical AI. Despite the desire for mechanisms for sustaining certainty in how to build AI technology responsibly by providing frameworks for action and accountability, there remains a need to ensure just enough spaces and opportunities to cultivate reasonable doubt. Space and capacity to doubt accepted certainties, in fact, is the very process of ethics, necessary for holding to account our standards, guidelines, and checklists as technology and society co-evolve.

AB - Discussions about AI development frequently bring up the question of ethics because it is difficult to predict how technological decisions might play out once AI systems are implemented and used in the world. Engineers of AI systems are increasingly expected to go beyond the traditions of requirement specifications, taking into account broader societal contexts and their complexities. In this paper we present findings from a hackathon event conducted with working engineers, exploring the gaps between existing guidelines and recommendations for addressing ethical issues with respect to AI technologies and the realities experienced by the engineers in practice. We found that when faced with the uncertainties of how to recognize and navigate ethical issues and challenges, engineers looked to identify the responsibilities that need to be in place to sustain trust and to hold the relevant parties to account for their misdeeds. We re-envision familiar engineering practices as nodes of certainty to accommodate the needs of responsible and ethical AI. Despite the desire for mechanisms for sustaining certainty in how to build AI technology responsibly by providing frameworks for action and accountability, there remains a need to ensure just enough spaces and opportunities to cultivate reasonable doubt. Space and capacity to doubt accepted certainties, in fact, is the very process of ethics, necessary for holding to account our standards, guidelines, and checklists as technology and society co-evolve.

KW - AI development

KW - certainty

KW - doubt

KW - Ethics

KW - unfinalizability

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122268273&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/1369118X.2021.2014547

DO - 10.1080/1369118X.2021.2014547

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85122268273

VL - 26

SP - 37

EP - 53

JO - Information, Communication & Society

JF - Information, Communication & Society

SN - 1369-118X

IS - 1

ER -

ID: 291680337