Advances in the Assessment and Certification of AI Ethics
At the embedded world Conference 2023, Prof. Ali Hessami, Director of R&D and Innovation at Vega Systems, gave a keynote on “Autonomous decision making and algorithmic learning systems” and two complementary approaches to the risk reduction in societal harm and ethical assurance of these technologies.
Why is the concept of AI Ethics suddenly on the top of the agenda?
AI ethics in the embedded system industry
In his keynote, Hessami first clarifies some terms before addressing the question above: The concept of ethics itself is a branch of knowledge that underpins our decisions and is what we want to embed in our solutions, technology products and services. Morality is the differentiation between right and wrong that we most likely reach through ethical concepts.
And then we arrive at the concept of embedded systems and autonomous systems. These are systems that can make decisions without human oversight or intervention. The main characteristic of an autonomous system is that it can decide on a course of action without prior human authorization and validation. Furthermore, it can take action in the real world based on that decision, and then adapt further depending on the reactions from the real world.
This is very different from the automation we are familiar with. We have never had machines deciding our fate and our rights. For this reason, the concept of ethics has suddenly arrived on the agenda.
It’s not just popular because philosophy has become as important as computer science. It’s because suddenly we have machines that are acting almost in the capacity of other human beings.
Technology Ethics Standard Overview
The keynote further covers the latest advances on technology ethics and two IEEE initiatives namely IEEE 7000 standard and the Ethics Certification Programme for Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (ECPAIS). These provide a basis for raising awareness and providing a systematic framework for the innovators, researchers and technologists as well as small and large enterprises involved in AI and technology innovation and development.
View the entire keynote of Prof. Ali Hessami
Sustainability of embedded systems and responsible AI
Ali Hessami has extensive track record in systems assurance and safety, security, sustainability, knowledge assessment/management methodologies and has a background in design and development of advanced control systems for business and safety critical industrial applications.
He also participated in a panel of experts at the exhibitor forum of the embedded world Exhibition&Conference 2023. The discussion revolved around the question of how sustainability of embedded systems and responsible AI are connected and whether regulatory mechanisms will be necessary in the future. Read more here: Sustainability with responsible AI
