Stephen Downes

The notion of 'AI ethics' supports the existing order, says Carlo Iacono. "What makes the AI purity discourse particularly suspect is how neatly it maps onto existing privilege." I've made a similar point, but it has not been well received. Iacono offers a number of examples: the boundaries around copyright infringement "shift depending on where you stand." A "politics that actually cared about justice" would support the AI workforce "in Nairobi and Manila and Hyderabad." The benefits from productivity gains "flow disproportionately to novices and those with fewer resources... If we care about equity, we should care about this." AI needs governance, sure, "but governance doesn't trend on social media. Denunciation does." The notions of 'AI ethics' we bandy about protect privilege, and are not the product of an ethical society.