Developing Ethics for Automation: New Paradigms of Equity & Trust

Background and Rationale

As technological advancements accelerate and automation – particularly artificial intelligence (AI) – continues to progress at an unprecedented pace, we witness not only the transformation of industries but also profound changes in our daily lives. However, as these technologies become increasingly integrated into society, they also give rise to significant ethical concerns.

Automated systems can be integrated into society in a way that conforms with pre-existing societal paradigms (including trust, explainability and privacy), or in accordance with new paradigms that may prove more ethical, given the potential benefits of automation. When a trade-off is required to achieve efficiency (sacrificing data privacy, for instance), we must learn what level of compromise is acceptable, or desirable. In this research, we investigate two key questions: What is fairness in the context of automation? And how should existing ethical paradigms, including trust, explainability and privacy, be modified for automated systems?

Objectives and Aims

This project aims to investigate the implications of public opinion and automation literacy on the ethics of automation, and on public behaviour across various contexts.

In order to achieve its aim, the project will:

1. Explore the relationship between automation literacy, trust, explainability and data privacy
2. Investigate the effects of automation transparency, as well as increased automation literacy, among end-user behaviour
3. Evaluate existing fairness models in automation so as to refine and extend their application to diverse contexts
4. Examine public opinion on fairness in automation across various contexts.
5. Examine public opinion on data privacy and explore methods for public data sharing to enhance the efficiency of automated systems while ensuring compliance with consent and data protection standards.

Methods

This study will adopt a mixed methods approach. Qualitative data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with individuals from the general Swiss public and focus groups with experts from different fields (healthcare, energy systems, transportation) to explore public views and attitudes, as well as the influence of automation literacy on ethical considerations in automation. Building on these insights, a nationwide quantitative survey will be designed to target Swiss citizens.