Is AI inherently good or bad? The answer may surprise you. But to get there, let’s start with a…
Pop quiz!
Here are three statements and three possible ways of evaluating them. Choose the best response for each.
1. Cell phones are good.
A. True
B. False
C. It depends
The correct answer is C: It depends.
A cell phone can be a lifesaver if you need to call for help in an emergency. But if you’re constantly checking it throughout the day, disrupting your focus at work or straining your personal relationships, that cell phone isn’t serving you so well. So, is a cell phone good or bad? It depends entirely on how you use it.
2. Social media is good.
A. True
B. False
C. It depends
The correct answer is C: It depends.
Social media is great for keeping in touch with friends and family, especially you don’t have an opportunity to see them often. But it can also be used to spread misinformation or fuel online harassment. Whether it’s a positive force or not hinges on how people choose to use it.
3. AI is good.
A. True
B. False
C. It depends
The correct answer is C: It depends.
AI often sparks strong opinions—either praised as a revolutionary tool or warned against as a potential threat. But AI is not inherently good or bad. Like cell phones and social media, artificial intelligence is just a tool. It’s an instrument for getting you from A to B. Its goodness or badness depends solely on how it’s used.
Let’s take a look at some good uses of AI and the role that ethics plays in the appropriate use of technology.
Good Uses of AI
Healthcare
A report from Harvard Medical School reveals that AI algorithms can enhance the accuracy of medical imaging and thereby aid early detection of diseases like cancer. For instance, AI systems can analyze radiological images to identify abnormalities that human beings might overlook.
In addition to diagnostics, AI can streamline administrative tasks within healthcare settings. For example, AI can manage patient records and assist with other routine clerical work, which may alleviate the administrative burden that healthcare professionals face.
Not all of this work up has been delegated to administrative assistants. According to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, physicians in the study spent approximately 27% of their office day on direct clinical face time with patients and 49% on electronic health records (EHR) and desk work. AI can thus allow physicians and other health care providers to focus on what they’ve been trained to do: care for patients.
Business
Beyond healthcare, AI is transforming routine tasks in business, especially in finance and operations. By automating repetitive tasks such as data entry and document management, AI helps companies both reduce human error and liberate employees to do more strategic work.
IBM has reported 10 ways that artificial intelligence can make business operations more efficient in ways that go far beyond clerical work. Among them: forecasting demand for a company’s products or services, optimizing the supply chain, and predicting equipment failure.
As with healthcare, AI in business can allow professionals to focus on what matters most: higher-level work that requires human creativity and judgment.
An AI case study
Phil is a consultant with environmental non-profit associations. Up until now, he has done every aspect of the work himself including marketing, public relations, communications. He wasn’t trained in any of these areas, but of necessity he has had to learn them. He’d rather spend his time consulting with businesses and giving presentations in his field, but the reality of being a solo entrepreneurs has meant devoting a sizable chunk of time each week to areas outside of his expertise.
A few months ago, Phil signed up for a subscription to OpenAI’s ChatGPT program. He had wanted to apprise dozens of trade associations in the U.S. of a new service he offers balked at the time it would take to figure out the best ones to pitch first.
He gave a random list of these associations to ChatGPT and asked the program to sort them from biggest to smallest. Phil also asked for the URL of each organization. He pressed “enter,” and within a few seconds, ChatGPT completed the task for him.
The hours that Phil saved on this boring clerical task allowed him to focus on what he went to school for and loves to do: consult with trade associations that work on issues that are professionally and personally meaningful to Phil.
The role of ethical principles in using AI for good purposes
Several ethical principles reveal why Phil has used ChatGPT the right way. The principle Make Things Better means in part that if we can use a technology to make a positive difference, it is right and good to do so. Ethics concerns not only how we treat other people but also how we treat ourselves. By delegating an achingly dull task—looking up the sizes of trade associations—to artificial intelligence, Phil was able to spend his time doing what he does best: helping trade associations that promote a healthy environment.
The principle Be Fair also plays a role in evaluating Phil’s use of ChatGPT. Consider the concept of the opportunity cost. When we devote our time, money, and effort to one endeavor, we are of necessity prevented from devoting those resources to other activities we want or need to pursue. One can make the case that it wouldn’t be merely unfortunate for Phil to spend hours on a clerical task that ChatGPT can do in a matter of seconds (and possibly more accurately). It would also be unfair, because it is an unwise use of his time.
For reflection
Technology is morally neutral. What makes the difference is how we use it. Artificial intelligence can be put to good use or bad. How can you use AI the right way? Why does it matter?