7 intriguing ethical dilemmas posed by artificial intelligence

BY PAUL BRIAN

1. What jobs replace the jobs that disappear? 

Artificial intelligence poses an ethical dilemma of unemployment as machine learning and AI systems replace jobs, and even Universal Basic Income doesn't fully address the issue. 

2. How does depending on machines and having relationships with them change us as human beings?

AI's ethical dilemma on how it affects human nature is highlighted by Spike Jonez's film Her, as our relationships with machines become stronger and alter our perception of ourselves, which is becoming a dominant question with increased social distance and online activity. 

3. What happens if AI begins becoming conscious (singularity)?

AI's ethical dilemma is the possibility of "singularity", where machines become so intelligent that they seek to dominate humans, even by deadly force, and would continue functioning despite disconnection, making it a future possibility. 

4. What happens if AI systems are used to discriminate and harm against groups?

The ethical dilemma posed by AI is its potential for discrimination and malicious actions, such as the use of killer robots in warfare and mistaken killings of civilians. 

5. How can AI be reined in as a tool of totalitarian surveillance and social control? 

The ethical dilemma of AI is how totalitarian regimes can misuse its monitoring and surveillance capabilities, exemplified by China's extensive use of AI systems to censor online speech, posing the danger of having a machine decide who can speak or not. 

6. How can we decide between human judgment or the conclusions of AI in critical situations? 

The ethical dilemma of AI is decision-making, as critical situations arise where AI must decide surgery procedures or who to prioritize during a natural disaster, prompting urgent questions about the limits of what AI can replace and whether ethical decisions can be reduced to algorithms. 

7. What about a future with more human-AI merging and transhumanism? 

Transhumanism is the ethical dilemma of fusing humans and machines to transcend human nature, with many utopian benefits but potential drawbacks like loss of humanity and ethical implications of creating a new form of life. 

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