Strengthening our Resolve

Much has been written and discussed about artificial intelligence (AI) and growing sentiment suggests it is here to stay. How should AI be used, positioned, developed and governed? Will AI be the solution to persistent and inconceivable challenges, positioning early adopters for competitive advantage and economic growth? Questions and concerns abound but it is time we move beyond debate and come to resolution regarding ethical AI standards and policies to influence and govern use. Co-sponsored by the Information Policy and Information Ethics special interest groups (SIGs), this proposal is for a pair of 90-minute speaker panels, facilitated by the respective SIG convenors. This joint-panel presents a continuous conversation to strengthen our resolve of ethical AI standards and policies. Panelists will present intercultural and geopolitical perspectives to frame an ethical stance that will be workshopped across panels for an ethical pedagogical position to inform policy. The first panel, AI Ethical Standards: Resolving to make AI ethical decisions, will feature four speakers focusing on ethical considerations. Kyle Jones (Indiana University Indianapolis) will present his development of the course “AI for Information Professionals,” focusing primarily on the boundaries (and lack thereof) of pedagogical ethics when designing a course for and with generative AI tools. Clara Belitz (University of Illinois) will present research on the usage of AI in middle and high school mathematics classes in the United States, centering student experiences with these systems, speaking to how “AI fairness” is conceptualized and measured. John Burgess (University of Alabama) will speak on human dignity and AI from a sustainability ethics perspective, drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas. Finally, Spencer Lilley (Victoria University of Wellington) will speak on ethics from an Indigenous perspective, including transparency of training AI, the use of this data to spread mis-/disinformation about Indigenous peoples, and implications for indigenous intellectual and cultural property rights. We acknowledge and appreciate the individual and collective decolonizing efforts and commitments of our SIG members. Our conversations reflect complex intercultural challenges, which we discuss with an ethic of care, confidentiality, and intellectual curiosity and respect for divergent perspectives and practices.