1.
3: Ethical Frameworks for AI
Frameworks
Frameworks are a set of steps that help us in solving problems. It provides a step-by-step guide
for solving problems in an organized manner. Moreover, frameworks offer a structured
approach to problem-solving, ensuring that all relevant factors and considerations are taken into
account. Additionally, they serve as a common language for communication and collaboration,
facilitating the sharing of best practices and promoting consistency in problem- solving
methodologies.
You may have used frameworks without knowing it! Can you think of one framework you have
come across during your AI journey?
Ethical Frameworks
We know that ethics are a set of values or morals which help us
separate right from wrong. Frameworks are step-by-step
guidance on solving problems.
Hence, Ethical frameworks are frameworks which help us ensure
that the choices we make do not cause unintended harm.
Furthermore, ethical frameworks provide a systematic approach
to navigating complex moral dilemmas by considering various
ethical principles and perspectives. By utilizing ethical
frameworks, individuals and organizations can make well-
informed decisions that align with their values and promote
positive outcomes for all stakeholders involved.
Why do we need Ethical Frameworks for AI?
As we have seen how bias could result in unwanted outcomes in AI solutions. Think of thehiring
algorithm which was biased against women applicants!
AI is essentially being used as a decision-making/ influencing tool. As such we need to ensure
that AI makes morally acceptable recommendations
Ethical frameworks ensure that AI makes morally acceptable choices. If we use ethical
frameworks while building our AI solutions, we can avoid unintended outcomes, even before
they take place!
So far, we have understood why ethical frameworks are needed.Let’s
try to guess what such a framework would be made of!
Activity: 1 My Goodness
Purpose: To understand how our decisions get influenced by our personal morals, values
and ethics!
Say: “Carefully read the descriptions provided that help you decide on donating. Explore your
decision-making ability.”
Visit the website – https://www.my-goodness.net/
Take a quick look at the video to learn more about the game!
Players must make 10 decisions on how they would like to make a charitable donation. In most
cases, players will receive details about the recipients. They will also be given information on
the intended use of the money they are donating. In a few instances, this may be hidden from
them, however they can choose to reveal it.
This activity aims to understand an individual’s judgment. We are looking to discover potential
biases within us!
Data is collected anonymously and with your consent.
If you wish to delve deeper and explore your own decision-making, click on “yes.”
After clicking on “yes” you will be taken to a short survey.
After the survey has been filled, you will see interesting insights about your decisions
Did you discover any internal biases in your
decisions?
Do you agree with the results shared by thegame?
Factors which could influence your decisions
without you realizing it include
• Identity of the charity recipient.
• Location of the recipient.
• Bias towards relatives.
• Uncovering information available.
This is just an exercise to uncover our biases and thought processes behind making certain
decisions. This will help us in producing a framework which can aid in making decisions which
are ethically sounder.
Let’s list at least 3 factors which knowingly or unknowingly influence our decision-making.
Value of humans
Culture
Value of non-humans
Is the decision I am
taking aligned with Religion
my religious views?
Intuition Does what I am
& thinking sound
Values correct?
Types of Ethical Frameworks
The various types of ethical frameworks are classified as follows:
Let's delve into the classifications of ethical frameworks.
Ethical frameworks for AI can be categorized into two main types: sector-based and value-
based frameworks.
1. Sector-based Frameworks:
These are frameworks tailored to specific sectors or industries. In the context of AI, one
common sector-based framework is Bioethics, which focuses on ethical considerations in
healthcare. It addresses issues such as patient privacy, data security, and the ethical use of AI in
medical decision-making. Sector-based ethical frameworks may also apply to domains such as
finance, education, transportation, agriculture, governance, and law enforcement.
2. Value-based Frameworks:
Value-based frameworks focus on fundamental ethical principles and values guiding decision-
making. It reflects the different moral philosophies that inform ethical reasoning. Value-based
frameworks are concerned with assessing the moral worth of actions and guiding ethical
behaviour. They can be further classified into three categories:
i. Rights-based: Prioritizes the protection of human rights and dignity, valuing human life over
other considerations. It emphasizes the importance of respecting individual autonomy, dignity,
and freedoms. In the context of AI, this could involve ensuring that AI systems do not violate
human rights or discriminate against certain groups.
ii. Utility-based: Evaluates actions based on the principle of maximizing utility or overall good,
aiming to achieve outcomes that offer the greatest benefit and minimize harm. It seeks to
maximize overall utility or benefit for the greatest number of people. In AI, this might involve
weighing the potential benefits of AI applications against the risks they pose to society, such as
job displacement or privacy concerns.
iii. Virtue-based: This framework focuses on the character and intentions of the individuals
involved in decision-making. It asks whether the actions of individuals or organizations align
with virtuous principles such as honesty, compassion, and integrity. In the context of AI, virtue
ethics could involve considering whether developers, users, and regulators uphold ethical
values throughout the AI lifecycle.
These classifications provide a structured approach for addressing ethical concerns in AI
development and deployment, ensuring that considerations relevant to specific sectors and
fundamental ethical values are adequately addressed.
Let’s explore a popular framework which is used in the healthcare industry.
Bioethics
Bioethics is an ethical framework used in healthcare and life sciences. It deals with ethical
issues related to health, medicine, and biological sciences, ensuring that AI applications in
healthcare adhere to ethical standards and considerations.
Principles of bioethics:
• Respect for Autonomy.
• Do not harm.
• Ensure maximum benefit for all.
• Give justice.
• “Non-maleficence” refers to the ethical principle of avoiding causing harm or negative
consequences. It emphasizes the obligation to minimize harm as much as possible and prioritize
actions that prevent harm to individuals, communities, or the environment.
• “Maleficence” refers to the concept of intentionally causing harm or wrongdoing.
• “Beneficence" refers to the ethical principle of promoting and maximizing the well-being and
welfare of individuals and society. It emphasizes taking actions that produce positive outcomes
and contribute to the overall good, ensuring that the greatest benefit is achieved for all
stakeholders involved.
Let’s look at a case study and see the impact of the application of an AI ethical framework on
the end outcome.
Case Study
A company aimed to support hospitals in optimizing patient care by
creating an AI algorithm designed to identify individuals at high risk.
The objective was to provide healthcare providers with valuable
insights to allocate resources effectively and ensure those most in
need receive appropriate attention. However, potential unintended
consequences lead to some problems in the model, such as the
algorithm inadvertently exacerbating existing biases or inaccuracies in
the data, potentially leading to misclassification of patients or
overlooking critical cases. Addressing concerns about the algorithm's
accuracy and reliability becomes paramount, as any flaws in its designor
training data could compromise patient care and outcomes
The problem it caused:
Patients from the Western region of a particular area, who were categorized at the same risk
level by the algorithm, generally exhibited more severe health conditions compared to patients
from other regions.
Why the problem happened:
• The algorithm utilized was trained on healthcare expense data as a measure for health
metrics rather than actual physical illness.
• This algorithm was created in the United States where less money is spent on western
region patient healthcare than other ethnic patient healthcare.
This meant the algorithm
We can use principles of the Bioethics framework to ensure an ethical AI solution.
The four principles of bioethics can be used to ensure an ethical AI solution for the healthcare
problem.
i. Respect for autonomy: Enabling users to be fully aware of decision-making. E.g., users of an
AI algorithm should know how it functions.
• The data that models were trained on, and used to make
decisions, should be reproducible and accessible to the
patients.
• In the event of performance concerns, model predictions and
data labels should be released.
ii. Do not harm: Harm to anyone (be it human or non–human) must be avoided at all costs. If
no choice is available path of least harm must be always chosen.
• Promote well-being, minimize harm, and ensure that
benefits and harms are distributed among stakeholders
in a just manner.
• The AI algorithm must be trained on data sets that
equitably reduce harm for all, not just harm for some
groups.
• In this instance, patients from other regions excluding
western part who were less ill would receive more
intensive care from doctors than patients who
actuallyrequire help.
• This algorithm, if implemented, would actively harm
patients belong to western region by inappropriately
recommending healthcare resource allocation.
iii. Maximum benefit: Not only should we avoid harm our actions must focus on providing the
maximum benefit possible.
• The solution should be held to clinical practice standards,
not merely technological ethics standards.
• It should go beyond nonmaleficence and strive for
beneficence.
• Considering the example, we discussed, the AI algorithm
should not only avoid causing harm to patients from the
western region but also provide benefits to these
patients, as well as patients from other regions and of all
races.
• Is there a better data set for training that reflects the
healthcare needs and outcomes of patients of all races?
• The data we use for training must be unbiased.
iv. Justice: All benefits and burdens of a particular choice must be distributed in a justified
manner across people irrespective of their background.
• Solution development requires concerted and in-depth
knowledge of social structures at play that result in issues
like racism and sexism (a few types of societal biases).
• The solution needs to be aware of social determinants of
healthcare and actively work against those structures.
We saw that abiding by bioethical principles could have helped us to avoid the unintended
consequences of the AI solution.
Test Yourself:
1. What is the purpose of defining the problem statement during the Problem Scoping stage in
an AI project cycle?
A) To collect data
B) To understand the aim and objective of the project
C) To train the model
D) To process data
2. In what ways can AI models be categorized based on the type of data fed into them?
A) Two domains
B) Four domains
C) Three domains
D) Five domains
3. In Statistical Data, what is the primary function of the system in relation to data?
A) Generating large datasets
B) Analyzing data to extract insights
C) Converting data into images
D) Distributing data across networks
4. What is the main goal of Computer Vision projects?
A) Translating audio data into visual descriptions
B) Converting digital data into analogue signals
C) Teaching machines to understand textual information
D) Converting digital visual data into computer-readable language
5. What is the primary focus of NLP?
A) Analyzing computer languages
B) Interacting between computers and humans using artificial language
C) Dealing with the interaction between computers and humans using natural language
D) Enhancing human-to-human communication
