Ethics not negativity
A huge amount of effort in tis area is wasted either through anthropomorphism, a lack of understanding of the technology or one sided ethical thinking. By one-sided, I mean an onslaught on what is 'bad' without a consideration of the 'good. Ethics is not activism, The two are often confused.
It will do little for Scotland's future in teach to spend huge amounts of time doing our typical 'Calvinist' doom-mongering. We have the talent and can, as the Logan report says, build an ecosystem but not if it's in an atmosphere of negativity and attacks on the technology. I say this as a Scot who has invested and brought investment to tech companies in Scotland but has stopped as the 'negativity' has become somewhat overpowering. Ethics is fine, constant sniping and regulation is destructive.
It will do little for Scotland's future in teach to spend huge amounts of time doing our typical 'Calvinist' doom-mongering. We have the talent and can, as the Logan report says, build an ecosystem but not if it's in an atmosphere of negativity and attacks on the technology. I say this as a Scot who has invested and brought investment to tech companies in Scotland but has stopped as the 'negativity' has become somewhat overpowering. Ethics is fine, constant sniping and regulation is destructive.
Why the contribution is important
In my field (AI) there are some big player in ethics, some like Russell, who are AI experts (see Human Compatible), others like the IEE and EU, who have the breadth, depth and talent to look at ethical issues as 'ethics' not just a litany of negativity and unrealistic regulations. We need to focus on getting things done within an ethical framework but not imagine that we are a major player in this game. As Russell says, every man, woman and their uncle is now involved in ethics and tech... let's not throw the baby our with the bath and the bathwater, before the bay has even been born!
by DonaldClark on December 18, 2020 at 11:49AM
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