Ethics and security must go hand in hand in the development, and use of AI
The AI hype is upon us in full force and artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. So we should also reflect on security and ethics, not least when it comes to technology development and the use of AI.
With ChatGPT and Open AI, artificial intelligence (AI) suddenly became everyone's property. AI is everywhere. Thus, we should also reflect on how the security and ethics of technology development are connected. We need to ask ourselves: how do we ensure that AI is used in a way that promotes the safety of society, while taking into account sustainability and ethical principles?
In 1936, a young British mathematician, Alan Turing, sat down with pencil and paper to solve one of the most fundamental questions in mathematics: what does it mean to perform a calculation? The result of this work, which started with a simple sketch of a machine, later known as the Turing machine, laid the foundation for the computer as we know it today. This innovation marked the start of the digital age and has since transformed everything from business to everyday life.
Almost a century later, our world is powered by technology that builds on what Turing once imagined. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key technology that is impacting both the private and public sectors in ways we could hardly have imagined just a few decades ago. AI brings with it enormous opportunities for improving people's quality of life, but it also comes with significant risks, especially if we don't address the ethical and security implications of the technology responsibly.
Technology warning from the UN
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it well in 2021: "New technologies can be an enormously positive force [...] But new technologies can also have disastrous consequences if they are rolled out without regard to their impact on human rights." This warning is particularly relevant today, when technological innovation is happening at a tremendous pace and AI is playing an increasingly important role in everything from healthcare to transportation and public administration.AI systems, like the ones we use today, are deeply integrated into our society. They have the potential to solve some of the biggest challenges we face, such as climate change, resource management and health issues. At the same time, they can also reinforce society's existing inequalities and injustices. For example, bias and discrimination can occur when the algorithms used in AI systems are trained on incomplete or misrepresentative datasets. This can result in marginalized groups being overlooked or treated unfairly, and in the worst case, can lead to decisions that harm individuals or groups.
Furthermore, we face new types of security challenges with AI. While traditional cybersecurity is about protecting data and systems from hacking or theft, we now also need to think about how AI can be misused to create false narratives, disinformation or change perceptions in society in a dangerous way. Technologies such as deepfakes and advanced manipulation tools can potentially undermine trust in society and threaten national security. This clearly shows that security in AI is not only about data security, but also about protecting the societal trust that is essential for a functioning democracy.
Ethics must be integrated into AI
To ensure that AI becomes a positive force, we need to integrate sustainable and ethical considerations into all stages of the technology's lifecycle. We need to demand transparency in how AI systems are built, who has access to the data, and what values underpin the decisions they make. This also means that we must be aware of how AI affects the environment. The use of AI is energy-intensive, and it is important that we develop systems that are energy-efficient and can contribute to a more sustainable future.
As a society, we must become better at seeing the connection between ethics and security in technology development. AI is not just a technological challenge; it's a societal challenge. We stand at a crossroads where we can choose to use AI in a way that creates more just and sustainable societies, or we can overlook the ethical implications and risk the technology reinforcing inequality and insecurity.
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Alan Turing saw early on the potential of the power of technology. Now, more than ever, we need to use that power responsibly - to build a society that is both safe and sustainable, and that puts human rights and ethics at its heart.
