This document summarizes a presentation about ethical responsibilities in artificial intelligence and user experience research. It discusses how AI systems are imperfect like humans, different types of AI, and how algorithms only know what they are taught. It emphasizes that UXR for AI needs to provoke discussions around important decision points regarding content curation, training, and management. Ethical considerations include preventing bias, maintaining accuracy, intentional oversight, and representing human values and safety. The goal is developing AI that is ethical, transparent and fair.

1. Dynamic UXR: Ethical
Responsibilities and AI
Carol Smith @carologic
Strive, Toronto, June 6, 2019
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
4.0 International License except where
noted otherwise.

2. Dynamic UXR: Ethical Responsibilities and AI / @carologic
Humanity…

3. AI is as imperfect
as the humans making it

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What is artificial intelligence?

5. AI is present when machines:
– Exhibit intelligence
– Perceive environment
– Take action / make decision
to maximize chance of success
at goal

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Types of AI
Image: Best Artificial Intelligence Software, © 2019 G2 Crowd, Inc. All rights reserved

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AI
Algorithms
Know ONLY what you teach
Control ONLY what given control of
Aware of nuances and can continue to learn

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Taxonomies and Ontologies coming to life
(NOT like humans learn)
Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baby_Boy_Oliver.jpg

9. Not sentient
Not unknowable black box

10. “We need
AI for that!”

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Like any good UX research
Understand people and problem deeply
Solve right problem
Solve it right

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UXR for AI - what changes?
Provoke discussions around decision points
Content
and curation
TrainingManagement

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Ethics 101

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What is Ethics? By Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J.
Meyer. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/what-is-ethics/
Ethics
Based on well-founded standards
of right and wrong.
Prescribe what humans ought to do.

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What is Ethics? By Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J.
Meyer. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/what-is-ethics/
Ethics in terms of…
Rights
Obligations
Benefits to society
Fairness
Specific virtues

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Images of trolleys and an anxious hypothetical trolley car lever operator.
Does the Trolley Problem Have a Problem? What if your answer to an absurd hypothetical question had no bearing on
how you behaved in real life? By Daniel Engber. Slate.com. June 18, 2018.
https://slate.com/technology/2018/06/psychologys-trolley-problem-might-have-a-problem.html
Not the Trolley Problem

17. NSF…

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Ethical UXR

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Decision Points
Content
and curation
TrainingManagement

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Goal: Prevent doubt
? ?
? ?
? ?
? ?

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Content and curation
Content
and curation
TrainingManagement

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Content Source
Exists
Available
Quantity
Quality
Photo by sunlightfoundation
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sunlightfoundation/2385174105

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Number Five “Needs Input”
Short Circuit (1986 film)
Ally Sheedy and Number Five (Tim Blaney)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Circuit_(1986_film)

25. Content
Data
AI
Are Biased

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Bias?

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Due to…
Social class
Resource availability
Race, gender, sexuality
Culture, theology, tradition
More…

28. Right humans
are required to
reduce bias

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Question…
What curated?
Respected sources?
What is diversity?

30. Only as good as data
(and time spent improving)

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Training and Accuracy
Content
and curation
TrainingManagement

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Annotating Content
Image created by Angela Swindell, Visual Designer, IBM

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Identify experts to train system
Trusted by users?
Vetting process
Availability
Maintain quality

34. Difficult
conversations

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What is priority of accuracy?
What is ROI? 90-99%+
accuracy
60-89%
accuracy
Financial
Ecommerce
Weeks
Months

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Management
Content
and curation
TrainingManagement

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Be Intentional
Make it your
business to keep
people safe
Image: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) “Odyssee im weltraum” – German
DVD disc cover. From IMBD.

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Code of Conduct / Ethics
What do you value?
What lines won’t your
AI cross?
Track progress?
Inspired by “3 guiding principles for ethical AI, from IBM CEO Ginni Rometty”
by Alison DeNisco. January 17, 2017, Tech Republic
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/3-guiding-principles-for-ethical-ai-from-ibm-ceo-ginni-rometty/

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Black Mirror Brainstorms
Create Black Mirror
episode about misuse
of your product
Pair with @brownorama's
"abusability testing"
Tweet by @aaronzlewis:
https://twitter.com/aaronzlewis/status/1063544871472914432

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Unintended consequences
Becomes a Nazi?
Who can report?
To whom?
Turn off?
Who notified?
Consequences?
Google’s tensor processing units:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/technology/google-artificial-intelligence-chips.html

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“Ensure humans can unplug the machines”
– Grady Booch, Ted Talk
Grady Booch, Scientist, philosopher, IBM’er
https://www.ted.com/talks/grady_booch_don_t_fear_superintelligence

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Cycle: Represent Humans at Ethical Decisions Points
Content
and curation
TrainingManagement

43. Evangelize for human
values in AI.
Ethical. Transparent. Fair.

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Continue the conversation...
LinkedIn: CarolJSmith
Twitter: @Carologic
Slideshare: carologic
Toward ethical, transparent and fair AI/ML: a critical reading list
By Eirini Malliaraki, Feb 19 via tweet from @robmccargow https://medium.com/@eirinimalliaraki/toward-
ethical-transparent-and-fair-ai-ml-a-critical-reading-list-d950e70a70ea