Ethical concerns about artificial intelligence: Evidence from a national survey in Taiwan

Abstract

Ethical concerns about how artificial intelligence (AI) impacts individuals and society are increasing rapidly, but few studies have systematically investigated the public awareness of AI ethics. This reseach collected and analyzed data from a public poll in Taiwan, an Asian region with a developed economy and specific social conditions, to identify societal views on AI ethics. The analysis of 84 AI ethics guidelines worldwide provided the survey framework covering 5 ethical principles: transparency, fairness, privacy, nonmaleficence, and accountability. The overarching goal was to determine the commonalities and differences in the ethical concerns of Taiwanese laypersons toward AI. Participants aged from 20 to 70 (n = 1,200) completed a computer-assisted random-digit-dial telephone survey, which utilized ethical scenarios to capture social views, and item validity was confirmed using focus-group interviews. Results found that respondents concerned about nonmaleficence the most, emphasizing that AI applications should not harm humans. Taiwanese people therefore tended to support strict AI technology regulation. It was particularly interesting that different patterns of public concern emerged about accountability, with the opinions on attributing responsibility to stakeholders varying with scenarios and the public's backgrounds. Those with higher education levels tended to attribute more responsibility to the industry, whereas those who had only received elementary-school education attributed accountability to AI developers. For self-driving cars, accountability was attributed to AI developers, whereas for medical decision-making, the accountability was attributed to the hospitals. These findings may help to elucidate the associations between societal views and the ethical principles of AI worldwide.