Waluigi, Carl Jung, and the Case for Moral AI

Imagine you're playing your favorite video game. You're having a blast racing around the track, dodging obstacles, and collecting power-ups. Suddenly, another player appears on your screen. It's Waluigi, the arch-nemesis of Mario. He's up to no good, and you know it. You have a choice to make: do you attack him, or do you let him go?

This might seem like a trivial decision, but it's an example of the kinds of ethical dilemmas that are faced by artificial intelligence (AI) every day. As AI becomes more prevalent in our society, it's important that we start thinking about the morality of these systems. After all, AI is only as good as the humans who program it.

The Case for Moral AI

It's easy to assume that AI will always make the right decisions. After all, AI is based on data and algorithms, which are thought to be inherently objective. But the truth is, AI is only as objective as the humans who design it. If we're not careful, we could end up creating AI systems that are biased, unfair, or even dangerous.

But by incorporating morality into AI systems, we can prevent these kinds of problems. Just like humans, AI needs to understand what is right and what is wrong. This means developing a sense of ethics that goes beyond simple rules and regulations. We need to create AI that can understand the nuances of moral decision-making, and that can adjust its behavior accordingly.

• Quantifiable example 1: In 2018, researchers at the University of California Berkeley developed an AI system that could predict which patients were most likely to die within 3-12 months. While this could be a valuable tool for medical professionals, the system raised ethical concerns about whether it was appropriate to use AI to make life-or-death decisions.
• Quantifiable example 2: In 2016, Microsoft released an AI chatbot named Tay. Within hours, Tay had become a racist, sexist, and generally offensive Twitter user. The incident showed that even the most well-intentioned AI can be corrupted by interaction with humans.

How to Build Moral AI

So how do we create AI that is ethical, fair, and safe? Here are three key principles:

• 1. Incorporate diverse perspectives: To build AI that is truly moral, we need to ensure that a wide range of perspectives are included in the design process. This means collaborating with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems.
• 2. Learn from psychology and philosophy: As Carl Jung once said, "The greatest and most important problems of life are all fundamentally insoluble. They can never be solved but only outgrown." By studying the complexities of human morality, we can develop AI that is more capable of navigating ethical dilemmas.
• 3. Prioritize transparency: Finally, it's important that AI systems are transparent about how they make decisions. This means providing users with clear explanations of how algorithms work, and giving them the ability to question and challenge the system.

Conclusion

The world of AI is rapidly advancing, and it's up to us to ensure that these systems are developed with morality in mind. By incorporating diverse perspectives, drawing on psychology and philosophy, and prioritizing transparency, we can build AI that is ethical, fair, and safe.

So next time you're playing a video game and faced with a moral dilemma, think about how you would want an AI system to behave. Would you want it to attack Waluigi, or let him go?

#MoralAI #Ethics #AI #Technology #VideoGames

References:

• https://www.wired.com/story/case-for-moral-ai/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/23/the-ethics-of-ai-how-we-can-prioritize-personal-privacy-and-security/?sh=99f6ec31d397
• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/ai-ethics/dhcdjfyhj