IEEE Weighs in on Ethical Standards for Artificial Intelligence

The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems recently announced new standards projects. 

Ethically Driven Nudges

“Nudges” are defined as “overt or hidden suggestions designed to influence human behavior or emotions.” The first of four standards proffered by the IEEE is IEEE P7008. This defines the “Standard for Ethically Driven Nudging for Robotic, Intelligent and Autonomous Systems,” and it delineates “the concepts, functions and benefits necessary to establish and ensure ethically driven methodologies for the design of robotic, intelligent and autonomous systems in accordance with worldwide ethics and moral theories.” The standard requires robots to adhere to widely accepted ethical norms of fairness and principles of moral behavior in their interactions with humans.

Fail-Safe Design

The second of three principles is IEEE P7009, the “Standard for Fail-Safe Design of Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Systems,” which applies to the safe cessation of robotic operations. The standard applies a scale from weak to strong that is used for measuring, testing and certifying a system’s ability to fail safely.

Wellbeing Metrics

IEEE P7010 is the “Wellbeing Metrics Standard for Ethical Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems.”  The standard looks beyond economic growth and productivity to further considerations such as emotional health, societal impacts and the environment. Sponsored by the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society, IEEE P7010 establishes a baseline for consideration of objective and subjective data that will incorporate “globally accepted ethical considerations.”

Photo courtesy of the IEEE