Aileen Benedict

Professor Malcolm Campbell

English 1103
09/27/2015
Topic Proposal: AI Ethical Issues
Introduction/Overview
The topic revolving around rRobotics, and artificial intelligence specifically, interests me. Id
like tomy research to go into our progress of creating artificial intelligence, and to examine the
possible ethical problems behind that. Are you positive there are ethical problems behind
it?Technology is growing at a very fast pace, and while an incredibly human-like AI may have
seemed impossible years ago, it may not be so impossibly far away today. MIT Professor Joseph
Weizenbaum wrote Computer Power and Human Reason in 1976, arguing that even if it were
possible to build, it should never be attempted anyways. Why? He believed that artificial
intelligences would never be able to make the same decisions as humans without the same level
of compassion. (I like how you used the example of what MIT Professor Joseph W.s thoughts
are upon AIs.)
While looking for opinions on our progression of artificial intelligence, Ive been seeing many
different sides. Some, are optimistic and believe that we are getting closer than we think closer to
what?, while others say that there is still a long way to go before computers are intelligent. A
New York Times article talks about Siri and the developments what developments?, also stating
that artificial intelligence [is] getting so good, so quickly, that it isnt really a stretch to imagine
that talking to computers will soon become one of the signature ways we interact with them.
While they who is they? may just be focused on the speaking aspect, the overall tone of the

article was very optimistic. Frederick Allen, on the other hand, talks about how AI is a
backwater at best(What is a backwater?) in his writing "Unreasonable Facsimile". He describes
the Loebner Prize Competition in AI, where computer programs abilities to converse are tested.
(How do they converse?) The judges go around to the different computers and are to talk with
(type to) is type to necessary? them about a specific topic. Some of them them? are the actual
programs, while others have a human typing on the other side. After the conversations, the
judges decide whether they just talked to a program or a real person, and they usually guess
correctly.(How can the judges determine what/who they are talking to?) According to Allen, the
only times theyve guessed incorrectly wasis when believing they guessed that a human was the
actual computer program, which doesnt really say much about the development of AI.
There are also many sides to the ethics behind this. What are the dangers and possibilities behind
creating an intelligence equal to or more than that of humans? The idea of creating robots and
artificial intelligences is intriguing for most of us because of everything they could help us with,
ranging from simple chores all the way up to research and development of new technology.
Would this just make them slaves then, if their only purpose was to work for us? If we ever
create AIs with similar brain power to that of humans, things would become very complex. Is it
possible for them to become sentimental, and would we need to give them basic rights? (Wow I
have never even thought about this it is a very good point!)There may also be religious
conflicts with creating our own artificial intelligences. I believe that we are still far from this
point, to where we need to worry about sentimental robots, but its still something to think about.
Good rhetorical questions in this paragraph.
Artificial Intelligences have has been something weve thought and imagined about about and
had an imagination for, for such a long time. There have been so many science fictio n books and

movies revolving around this idea. In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Marvin is an
extremely intelligent, but depressed, robot who helps the main characters. The book and movie
even goes as far as imagining the artificial intelligence named Deep Thought who comes up with
the answer to life and everything (42) ?.
I like this topic because Im majoring in Computer Science, and this is what Id want to do
research and development on in the future: Artificial Intelligence. We are getting closer(Getting
closer to what?), though whether its by a faster or slower pace Id reword, I dont know. Our
society seems to be getting more and more focused around technology, so this is definitely
something that will be a big deal later on in the future., if it isnt already necessary?. Im going to
continue looking through the library databases and searching for scholarly resources. I also
noticed a few books, such as the one by Joseph Weizenbaum mentioned earlier, that Id like to
check out from Atkins. The New York Times also seems like a very good source to read more
about current news involving robotics, artificial intelligence, and possibly the ethics surrounding
that them.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

What are the ethical problems surrounding artificial intelligence? How far have we progressed
with creating human-like artificial intelligence, and how quickly are we continuing to progress?
Is it possible to create human-like AI? Is it possible for robots to become so human-like, that
they actually have emotions? All of these say basically the same thing.Would the development of
the quantum computer aid in the development of artificial intelligence? What kind of research is
being done right now involving robotics and AI? Could we combine biology, psychology, and
computer science to develop robotics in this way (human-like)? What problems could arise due

to AI becoming identical or superior to human intelligence? Is the matrix real? This seems
random, though I get the joke

My Interest in this Topic

Im interested in researching this subject because, as stated above, Im majoring in Computer
Science, and its my goal to eventually become a part of the research and development working
to create and improve artificial intelligence. Of course, Im a freshman and just starting out with
my major, so you never know whatll happen Id reword. Maybe anything could
happen/change?. Im intrigued by all of this, though, and will probably have my majormajors
focus ion Intelligent Systems. Ive been inspired by a lot of science fiction books and movies
with robotics, and would love to see a lot of the things depicted actually happen (like Data from
Star Trek). A lot of what I know or imagine is solely from books, however, so I know that my
knowledge about current events and what is actually happening today with artificial intelligence
is somewhat lacking. Ive read a few articles or and talked to my dad about things such as IBMs,
Watson winning jeopardy, or and the development of quantum computers. My knowledge is very
limited, though, and Id like to go more in depth with this topic, especially since its something
Id like to try working with in the future. We use technology everywhere in society, and its
constantly improving. If we ever develop robotics and artificial intelligences further, we might
even get far enough as to where they become as common as computers and smartphonessmart
phones. There are so many possibilities and unanswered questions.

Next Steps
I will continue to use the library databases for research, as theyve had a lot of really interesting
results with different points of views. I think Ill also check out a few books from Atkins to look

through during the course of this research project. Id like to read about what other people think
about this topic, such as with Joseph Weizenbaums Computer Power and Human Reason. The
New York Times is also a really good source of current information. I should probably also try to
find some good science magazines to look at.
I might see if I can find some professors in the Computer Science department to ask about their
opinions and any research projects of their own Id reword of their own. When I came to
UNCC for a tour a couple years ago, we were able to see some of the robotics projects of
students here reword to students robotics projects?, so that would be really fun to look at as
well. It would probably also be really helpful to talk to some of the reference librarians for
Computer Science to see if they can point me in any ? direction for artificial intelligence ethics.
There are so many books and resources at Atkins, its kind of overwhelming, but exciting at the
same time.

Overall, the paper is pretty good. Most of the corrections I put in were about wording and
grammatical errors. Its an interesting topic that definitely relates to todays society. You can
probably find a lot about the possible ethical issues regarding this topic.
~Stephanie
You have a very interesting topic that you can definitely further investigate. The main thing that
I would change would be to indent your paragraphs whenever you start a new one. Overall I
really like the direction that you are taking with your topic, its not too broad and has a lot of
room for specific details. You are on the right track and have the potential of a fantastic paper! I
look forward to seeing what other information you uncover about AI and cannot wait to read
what you write throughout the semester!
-Dana B