Coproduction, Ethics and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Over the past five years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been endorsed as the technical underpinning of innovation. Sensationalist representations of AI have also been accompanied by assumptions of technological determinism that distract from the ordinary, sometimes unassuming consequences of interaction with its systems and processes. Drawing on scholarship from cultural anthropology, along with science and technology studies (STS), this paper examines coproduction in a Canadian AI research and development context. Through interview responses and field observations it presents sites of sociotechnical entanglement and ethical discussion to highlight potential spaces of mediation for anthropological practice. Emerging themes from the experiences of AI specialists include the negotiability of technology, an ethics of the everyday and critical collaboration. Together this returns to an initial approach into a situated understanding of artificial intelligence, negotiating with broad, sensationalist perspectives and the more commonplace, backgrounded cases of narrow research.

Artificial Intelligence Ethics: A Dialogue between Technological Advances and Human Values

“…With the wide application of AI, personal data are collected and processed in large quantities, which are both the basis for the operation of AI systems and the source of potential risks. Without a strict ethical framework to regulate the collection, storage and use of data, personal privacy may be violated and the risk of data misuse will increase significantly [13]. Therefore, the establishment of an ethical framework can help find a balance between technological advancement and privacy protection, and ensure the safety and transparency of personal information in AI applications.…”

Sesgos y discriminaciones sociales de los algoritmos en Inteligencia Artificial

“…El concepto de sesgo algorítmico surgió de la observación de tecnologías de reconocimiento facial y vigilancia predictiva (Govia, 2020) inteligentes, las máquinas y su relación con las modificaciones éticas, imperantes en la realidad social. Sobre estas circunstancias, hemos encontrado que los sistemas de IA en ocasiones "promueven una objetividad sin responsabilidad pública, y sin el sesgo social incrustado en ellos" (Manasi et al, 2022, p. 6); pero esto se complica por el hecho de que, aunque las máquinas inteligentes pueden identificar estrategias óptimas, es posible "que no puedan decir si una elección fue correcta o incorrecta" (Manasi et al,p.…”

Three different types of AI hype in healthcare

“…Yet, as many scholars have argued, AI and similar information communication technologies need to be understood as 'socio-technical systems' that includes not only the computational mechanisms but also human behaviour and societal context [18]. Rather than being determined by technology, humans negotiate amongst a multitude of narratives framing its development and usage [19], and in which the interaction within everyday life is perhaps the most important [20]. Given the political-economic role of hype in selling technology, the article expands the socio-technical understanding of AI through highlighting its political-economic aspects.…”