Examining AI Through an Ethical Lens

“Seattle University is in a unique position to train new leaders to use technologies with ethics and discernment,” said President Eduardo Peñalver as he opened the Ethics and Tech Conference on artificial intelligence. 

The focus of the conference, Will Intelligent Machines Prepare the Next Workforce? explored the role of AI in preparing workers for short- and long-term success, the implications for the shifting educational landscape and the impact on the workforce. 

Convened by Seattle University with support from Microsoft, the conference brought hundreds of people to campus for discussions with industry leaders from the worlds of tech and academia. One of the presenters, Father Paolo Benanti traveled from Rome for the conference. 

Fr. Benanti, the Rome Call for AI Ethics Advisor to Pope Francis and professor at Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, was also awarded the inaugural “Excellence in Ethics” award for his leadership on this important topic. 

“This award is established with support from Microsoft to recognize an individual or group who represent the mission of Seattle University and contribute in a leadership capacity to embody our statement where innovation meets humanity,” said Amit Shukla, PhD, dean of the College of Science and Engineering. “Fr. Benanti was awarded this inaugural SU Ethics Award for his work on Rome Call for AI Ethics. His leadership on this topic has enabled a global effort to focus on humanity as we engage with exponential growth in AI.” 

During his presentation, Fr. Benanti said, “AI is the start of a new era for humanity. We will continue to shape the future, that is, the ethics of AI.” (Listen to a KIRO radio interview with Fr. Benanti during his Seattle visit.)

In addition to Benanti, the at-capacity crowd heard from Blaise Agüera y Arcas, vice president and fellow at Google Research and Lori Lewis, operations leader of the Technology Trust Ethics (TTE) team at Deloitte. 

Lewis laid out five principles that must be in place for human and machines to collaborate fairly.

• Education—We must move to digital literacy for all students and teach students to be comfortable with change. 
• Employers should create a culture of lifelong learning.
• Employees can use AI to complete supportive tasks.
• Humans must be in the loop as human oversight of AI is a must.
• Trustworthy AI—We need to ensure that it is safe and has ethical inputs.

Additionally, Lewis discussed the skills workers will need for AI transformation including a fundamental knowledge of computer science, robotics, artificial intelligence and the ability to be super flexible.

Agüera y Arcas explained how memory is what distinguishes humans from artificial intelligence: “These models do not have long term memory. They live in continuous present tense. ... Memory keeps humans from being machine-like.” 

He added said that his senior colleagues at Google want government regulation of AI to be focused on goals and outcomes rather than specific technologies. 

Following the individual presentations, Daniel Kluttz, director of Sensitive Uses in the Office of Responsible AI at Microsoft, moderated a roundtable discussion with all three speakers. Conference participants came from the tech industry and higher education, as well as business and community leaders.