Topic Selection
The chosen topic is related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ethical issues raised by this emerging technology. Nowadays, the technology of artificial intelligence is applied in various spheres of human life. Popular nowadays E-commerce often uses AI to allow customers to buy online and find relevant advertising on digital platforms and social media. Even though AI seems a distant futuristic concept, this software has already been rooted deeply in everyday life through smartphones, personal assistants, drones, not to mention autonomous cars and robots. Thus, it would be impossible for people to stop using all the helpful services and gadgets constructed on an AI basis. Technological progress went far beyond our imagination, and AI became an indispensable companion in everyday life. However, only a few people are concerned with the possible threats that technological progress brings. Therefore, the development of the concept of artificial intelligence raises many ethical issues about humans’ rights and their usefulness to society.
The most worrying ethical problems are the decline of the job roles value and all-encompassing surveillance that encroaches on individuals’ civil liberties and contradicts ethical principles. Society has always tended to automatization of manual labor. If artificial intelligence is applied in the future to perform physical work, many people can become unemployed and will have to take professional training to meet society’s changing technologically-conditioned needs. The problem of surveillance has a severe impact on human life perception. Therefore, with AI’s widespread implementation, people’s private liberties and ethical values are in great danger.
Annotated Bibliography
Desmond, Ned. The Threat of Artificial Intelligence. First Things, 2021.
The scientific publication is devoted to discussing the threats of AI to society. The paper raises various problems of AI implementation and provides substantial evidence based on social experience and cultural events. The article evaluates the possible public and personal privacy dangers and encourages people to be cautious while using technologies. The source is highly relevant for the moral and ethical exploration of AI implementation.
Meredith, Moris. “Viewpoint AI and Accessibility: A Discussion of Ethical Considerations.” Communications of the ACM, vol. 63, no. 6, 2020, pp. 35–37.
The article focuses on discussing the role of society’s AI awareness and education as well as the legal regulations analyzing the recent online platforms. The paper includes possible human rights violations and proposes increasing users’ awareness of AI ethical problems solutions. Technological education is vital for social development and safety aspects and is essential to address while discussing the ethical issues raised by AI.
Sharma, Sujeet, et al. “Okay Google, What About My Privacy: User’s Privacy Perceptions and Acceptance of Voice-Based Digital Assistants.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 120, 2021, pp. 1–2.
The article emphasizes the ethical problem of social networking sites’ privacy and searches security. Conducting the empirical research, the author collected the privacy settings of two voice searching assistants. The practical privacy calculations while searching are presented in this paper. The article’s empirical information supports the theoretical theory about the AI implementation threats with reliable facts. The paper states the ethical issues raised by the held research without offering possible solutions.
Shneiderman, Ben. “Human-Centered AI Computer Scientists Should Build Devices to Enhance and Empower Not Replace Humans.” Issues in Science & Technology, vol. 37, no. 2, 2021, pp. 56–62.
The article is devoted to exploring the ethical dangers of AI perception. Addressing outstanding personalities’ philosophical ideas, Shneiderman discusses the possible threats of AI to society’s morality. The author of the article also encourages creators to reconsider the role of AI in their life and emphasizes the necessity to preserve traditional ethics in the age of technological advancement and AI widespread usage for commercial aims.
Policy Paper
Society often considers artificial intelligence implementation as a dramatic increase in technological progress. Terminal illnesses treatment, labor automatization, and other various positive aspects of this technology will change human lives for the better. The impact of this emerging technology is, without a doubt, tremendous even today and will transform society’s moral set-ups and values in the future. This change in priorities can raise significant moral and sometimes even legal issues that contradict traditional ethics. Thus, the AI can provoke ethical problems regarding the working roles devastation, violating human privacy and freedom of expression rights.
In order to discuss the ethical problems raised by the AI implementation, the starting point of moral-adequate behavior should be emphasized. The most definitive morality theory which is logically suitable to the discussion of AI impact is virtue ethics because it focuses on the personal peculiarities of the human character but not on the behavior rules. Addressing this concept, the first issue to elaborate on is the job’s role in devastation. The human being, from the very beginning of civilization, strived to facilitate manual labor. Thus, in terms of alleviating the working process, AI implementation seems a great possibility to make this long-established human dream come true.
However, considering the virtue ethics concepts, the work contributes to forming positive moral character traits in human life. Labor is precisely one of the spheres where humans can prove that their actions are committed to virtue. However, when considering AI implementation in industrial practices, a considerable part of society will lose their value as workers because their professions will be redundant due to modern technologies (Desmond). Thus, people will lack the opportunity to develop virtuous characteristics and, before getting the new profession, will have no value to society.
The second ethical issue is connected with people’s privacy settings. In order to be decent members of society, people will have to obtain the knowledge necessary to use AI in their everyday life (Meredith 36). However, as people have already learned from widespread Internet usage, they have to provide the system with personal data to access most services. Wide AI usage will provoke even higher data flow, which will provide access for malicious users who can violate human privacy (Shneiderman 57). Thus, considering virtue ethics, AI implementation is dangerous for both the technology creators and users. The first category of people develops negative skills such as manipulation and malicious profit-centered actions. In contrast, the second will suffer from the inappropriate attitude, and the role of human life and personality development will be significantly weakened.
The rights to freedom of expression and privacy are essential in any political system legislation and are at a high risk of being violated because of the widespread AI usage. The social media artificial intelligence algorithms are often devoted to tracking the prohibited behavior on the particular platform, eliminating violators’ profiles, or limiting their activity (Sharma 1). However, the fact that people program artificial intelligence to control others means that the original moral norms come not from the people themselves who strive to develop virtue character peculiarities but from the creators of this technology. Using artificial intelligence, they can transform the moral rules to suit their own needs.
Moreover, the AI systems can be programmed to skip particular types of communication like slang, thereby treating users’ activity as a prohibited action. This process will cause significant difficulties in minor groups’ online communication and even harm their self-identification as a part of society. Thus, this can lead a community to particular minorities discrimination, which is actively fought today by many countries. Therefore, the AI implementation may violate users’ freedom of expression rights from legal and ethical points of view.
Privacy rights are also at significant risk of being violated due to AI usage. The overall surveillance and internet behavior tracking technologies are originally designed to protect human rights. However, they also allow the vast leak of personal data and access to the civic space (Meredith 36). Today, the advertisement tracking AI analyses the users’ behavior and offers them only suitable for their needs services. This process makes shopping and other daily activities much easier for people. These technological advancements are genuinely astonishing and are possible only thanks to AI-based programs. However, this process also means that creators can learn any information about people and use it for malicious aims.
Moreover, the AI always accompanies users in their lives, which, considering the fact that humans initially designed this program for particular purposes, can cause moral uneasiness and anxiety. The governmental organizations are responsible for controlling the AI implementation and ensuring ethics, from the rule of law and ethics perspectives, this technology is advancing (Meredith 37). Thus, the moral and legal threats can be minimized by the appropriate governmental regulations.
Therefore, as far as addressing the ethical issues of AI is an essential responsibility of the government, and a particular policy should be proposed. The government should pass legislation that requires all the organizations which plan to implement AI systems to gain the ethical certificate, which is given after getting more than 75 percent in the ethics evaluation. The possible difficulties are that the program devoted to the ethics system evaluation creation should include the objective limitations for the AI usage and require significant investments. A particular ethical concept such as virtue ethics should become the core principle of estimating technology and be approved by the public in order to avoid commercially beneficial intentions. As a result of such technology, the problems of malicious data usage and privacy violations will be solved. This policy will restrict AI’s unlimited opportunities and manage it by respecting ethics and human rights.
Artificial intelligence is an emerging technology that will lead society to another level of technological advancement. Under AI-based technologies, society will reconsider some moral values and change attitudes towards the rule of law. Even though these changes are unavoidable, people should never diminish the role of human morale and privacy. Treating personal development as a way to become a decent member of society implies respectful attitudes to others. The government is responsible for the adequate regulation of the implementation of the innovation and supporting policy ensuring the society’s ethics development.
Works Cited
Desmond, Ned. The Threat of Artificial Intelligence. First Things, 2021, Web.
Meredith, Moris. “Viewpoint AI and Accessibility: A Discussion of Ethical Considerations.” Communications of the ACM, vol. 63, no. 6, 2020, pp. 35–37. Web.
Sharma, Sujeet, et al. “Okay Google, What About My Privacy: User’s Privacy Perceptions and Acceptance of Voice-Based Digital Assistants.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 120, 2021, pp. 1–2. Web.
Shneiderman, Ben. “Human-Centered AI Computer Scientists Should Build Devices to Enhance and Empower Not Replace Humans.” Issues in Science & Technology, vol. 37, no. 2, 2021, pp. 56–62. Web.
Customer Behavior And Segments
The first of the five best segments of Carrollton is Country Squires, which consists of wealthy elderly people who left urban areas in search of quiet life in small towns. The segment is characterized by the increased interest in comfort and stability which can be traced in their habits and preferences, such as love for reliable cars and classic rock music. The second segment is Big Fish, Small Pond – well-educated upper-class families who, as a rule, do not have kids and enjoy the benefits offered by this freedom. They are highly familiar with modern information technologies and actively participate in the development of their community. The third segment is Fast-Track Families – people who schedule their lives in the best interests of their children. They readily engage in active sports and are proficient in time management both at work and at home. The fourth segment is the New Homesteaders – young dual-income families, often with children, who organize their child-centered lifestyles using high-tech products and by their high standards for comfort. The fifth segment is White Picket Fences. Its representatives prefer life in town and enjoy watching rather than engaging in sports. Minor differences aside, they resemble the stereotypical household of the previous generation.
An article by John Rampton highlights the most relevant areas of customer behavior research. Internet sales are becoming increasingly more significant, with an estimated volume of spending on B2C e-commerce of more than $700 billion (Rampton). According to the author, the research is first conducted in a range of Internet resources containing feedback from the customers. The data is then disaggregated by several demographics, such as gender, and adjusted to several specific behaviors, such as the tendency to shop using multiple devices, visits to brick-and-mortar stores before online purchase, and the checkout process preferences (Rampton). With these factors accounted for, marketers can produce a comprehensive picture of online consumer behavior.
Work Cited
Rampton, John. “A Marketer’s Guide to Understanding Ecommerce Shoppers in 2016.” Forbes, Web.
Death In The Village Of Gold, Zamfara Province
Review Process
The village of Gold is a case study experiencing a life-threatening condition to its population after numerous deaths are reported amongst children in three villages of Zamfara Province, Nigeria. The case involves a Disease Detective who has a role in identifying the cause of deaths after getting the information from Doctors Without Borders (DWB). For the sake of the children and the severity of the situation, the Disease Detective could not make an early assumption, but rather take a trip to Nigeria. This was essential because the children were dying faster than normal; thus, a need for intervention was necessary. However, after arriving in Nigeria, the Disease Detective realized that the terrain was challenging as quick transportation to the village of Gold was hampered. Furthermore, the GPS was unavailable based on the fact that the village was remote. In this regard, the Disease Detective had to communicate and travel with the locals, thus ensuring the language barrier was linked as they traverse the villages to the outbreak site. Therefore, an understanding of the disease identification and the epidemiological process is vital in providing intervention as a preventive measure.
The most significant move the Disease Detective did was to seek permission from the village elders to draw samples for laboratory tests. In addition, it was important to travel with a local religious leader as this was vital in ensuring that the Disease Detective gained the trust of the locals. Moreover, traveling with the elders was to ascertain that they do not break any village rules and norms during the process. After analysis of the blood samples, more severe problems emanated. The samples indicated that the children were suffering from lead poisoning. Additionally, the Disease Detective realized that medicines were limited and could not cater to all sick children in the village. In this scenario, the Disease Detective was clinically right to administer the limited medicine to the children that were severely sick. Notably, this was a better move as leaving them untreated would lead to more deaths.
Disease Identification
Lead poisoning is a severe illness that results from an accumulation of lead metal in the blood as a result of exposure to Lead paints and clouds of dust causing severe sickness in both children and adults. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (n.d.), even small lead build-up in the blood can result in severe sickness, though fatal in high lead levels. Signs of lead poisoning include such symptoms as developmental delays, abdominal pain, seizures, and irritability. Based on the case above, the children were manifesting the symptoms listed above; seizures, coma, blindness, or death. Having identified the disease, it was important to start treatments even with limited medicines. In this case, chelation therapy was administered for clinical management and control of lead poisoning.
Chelation therapy is a form of treatment that encompasses the oral administration of Succimer. In Africa, and Nigeria, the use of Succimer was reported to be effective in the treatment of lead poisoning as it could bind to such heavy metals as lead, iron, mercury, and zinc among others (CDC, n.d.). In this case, the young children with the most fatal form of lead poisoning receive chelation therapy for several weeks and require more than a single dose for successful clearing of lead in their blood.
Causes and Risk Factors of Lead Poisoning
Upon administration of the medicine and after four weeks, the Disease Detective had to determine the cause of the disease condition. The Disease Detective realized that the main cause of the illness was the mining activities taking part in two villages as their children were sicker compared to the village with less mining. Regardless, they determine the best cause of action is to remove the top layer of the lead-contaminated soil. Based on the Epi-Curve, the Detective continues to provide education about lead poisoning as well as monitor the cases since the commencement of the outbreak. After the completion n of the intervention, the cases were still high though deaths in young children had gradually reduced. The Detective established that during the removal of the top layer of soil covered with lead, the parents often got home smeared with dust containing lead, thus resulting in more infection to the at most risk population, children under 5 years. Stopping the mining process was not a decision to make as the villages depended on gold for survival and as a source of income.
Epidemiological Process
In public health and nursing, epidemiology is a branch of science that is concerned with the investigation of occurrences of an illness, and the resolution of an outbreak. Through epidemiology, the rates of disease can be established through the formulation of rates, counting the number of disease occurrences, and dividing by the total population of the region affected by the disease insurgence (Roberts et al., 2020). The process helps to ascertain the type of the outbreak whether it is typical or atypical for an infected region. In the case study, the Detective used epidemiological study and Epi-curve in articulating the cases to be high in two villages than in the other.
The initial procedure for the epidemiological process is to prepare for fieldwork. Though the time frame for the above case was limited, it was important for the Detective to travel immediately to Nigeria because so many children were dying. At the site of the outbreak, the Detective could not determine the cause of the disease from symptoms alone but performed laboratory tests from blood samples. The test revealed that the children were suffering from Lead poisoning, a nervous disease, which results from Lead build-up in the blood because of exposure to Lead-related dust or paints. Moreover, during the identification, the Detective was guided by the presence of a control group, the one village that had fewer cases and did lesser mining activities. The Detective also concluded that the villagers were using was unsafe, and hence, there is a need for safer methods, noting mining gold was their only source of income.
In conclusion, lead poisoning is a devastating public health issue in Nigeria. Based on the case illustrated, Disease Detective plays a critical role in identifying the causes of such life-threatening conditions. From the analysis, the Detective provides future remedies and control by ensuring environmental safety and delivering educational processes as a preventive measure. Importantly, the Disease Detective employed the use of village elders and the locals to enhance communication because the language barrier was a key factor in reducing the identification of the diseases. Though the Detective only concluded that lead poisoning was from the soil emanating from mining dust, testing samples of drinking water is also essential to ensure all causes of lead poisoning are identified for quick preventive measures. As an intervention, the Disease Detective should consider involving government agencies in sourcing funds to promote other in-come generating sources or provide safe mining devices to the villagers that minimize lead poisoning.
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. (n.d.). Solve the outbreak. Web.
Roberts, D. J., Crabbe, H., Owodunni, T., Gordon-Brown, H., Close, R., Reshat, S., Sampson, B., Ruggles, R., Dabrera, G., Busby, A., & Leonardi, G. (2020). Case epidemiology from the first three years of a pilot laboratory-based surveillance system for elevated blood-lead concentrations among children in England, 2014-17: Implications for public health action. Journal of Public Health, 42(3), 542-549. Web.