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Artificially intelligent systems are increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, from automated vehicles to delivery robots and virtual assistants. As research shifts towards developing systems with artificial awareness, critical ethical questions arise: What responsibilities come with these advancements? How can benefits and challenges be balanced among developers, policymakers, and end-users? A by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Jan 22, 2025
Artificially intelligent systems are increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, from automated vehicles to delivery robots and virtual assistants. As research shifts towards developing systems with artificial awareness, critical ethical questions arise: What responsibilities come with these advancements? How can benefits and challenges be balanced among developers, policymakers, and end-users? And how can such technologies align with societal values while minimizing risks?
"The integration of increasingly sophisticated AI systems into society presents novel ethical challenges, in terms of their interactions with the wider public but also policy making and monitoring," said Ana Tanevska, Postdoctoral Researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden.
Mathijs Smakman, Professor at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht in the Netherlands, explained, "Introducing terms such as awareness into this field could provide potential benefits such as enhanced opportunities for value alignment, self-monitoring capabilities, and more explainable systems for end-users. Yet, they also pose risks, including difficulties in evaluation, and the potential for miscommunication about the capacities and intelligence of such systems to the wider public."
These pressing issues were the focus of the 2nd Workshop "Inside the Ethics of AI Awareness," hosted at Uppsala University on November 11, 2024. Organized by the SymAware consortium in collaboration with other EIC-funded projects under the "Awareness Inside" portfolio, the workshop explored governance frameworks for AI ethics, multi-agent systems' ethical dimensions, and designing value-aware and metacognitive AI systems.
The recently enacted EU AI Act highlights the necessity of addressing these concerns, placing ethical principles at the core of AI system design and governance. Mihalis Kritikos from the European Commission delivered a keynote discussing the EU's evolving ethics governance framework for AI. His talk also addressed the Trustworthy AI approach, a cornerstone of the AI Act's guidelines. Andrea Galassi of the University of Bologna shared insights from two case studies: a prototype dialogue system supporting immigrants with asylum applications and an analysis of fairness and diversity in mental health-focused speech datasets.
Participants engaged in an interactive session examining the responsible integration of aware AI technologies into society. Key topics included transparency, accountability, and fostering human-AI collaboration. Discussions underscored the importance of stakeholder engagement, from policymakers to developers and the public.
Ophelia Deroy, Professor of Philosophy and Neuroscience at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, noted, "Workshops like this are where meaningful ethical frameworks take shape. By uniting experts across disciplines, they foster actionable dialogue that goes beyond theoretical debates. The emphasis on cross-fertilizing ethical discussions across European projects is especially crucial, as Europe emerges as a leader in addressing the alignment between AI and human values. This commitment not only sets a global standard but also tackles pressing real-world challenges with clarity and responsibility."
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