May/June 2019

On Ethics
IEEE Releases Ethics Guide in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Design

As autonomous and intelligent systems advance and roll out into the marketplace, engineering-focused organizations want to ensure that this new technology is both safely and ethically designed and deployed.

After several years of a consensus-building process, IEEE released the finalized first edition of the Ethically Aligned Design guide in April. The guide addresses the ways in which autonomous and intelligent systems can be designed and implemented to infuse ethical principles and to maintain societal well-being.

The guide acknowledges that autonomous and intelligent systems can be used for societal good, while emphasizing that design considerations should safeguard not only people but also the environment and natural resources. Most important, the systems should deliver services in a trustworthy manner that is protective of privacy.

The guide can be used by governments, businesses, and the public to ensure that policies and regulations around autonomous and intelligent systems technology will

• support, promote, and enable internationally recognized legal norms;
• develop government expertise in related technologies;
• ensure governance and ethics are core components in research, development, acquisition, and use;
• regulate to ensure public safety and responsible system design;
• educate the public on the societal impact of related technologies.

The guide also outlines a set of general principles of ethically aligned design, which are the following

• Human Rights—Autonomous and intelligent systems (A/IS) shall be created and operated to respect, promote, and protect internationally recognized human rights.
• Well-being—A/IS creators shall adopt increased human well-being as a primary success criterion for development.
• Data Agency—A/IS creators shall empower individuals with the ability to access and securely share their data, to maintain people’s capacity to have control over their identity.
• Effectiveness—A/IS creators and operators shall provide evidence of the effectiveness and fitness of A/IS.
• Transparency—The basis of an A/IS decision should always be discoverable.
• Accountability—A/IS shall be created and operated to provide an unambiguous rationale for all decisions made.
• Awareness of Misuse—A/IS creators shall guard against all potential misuses and risks of A/IS in operation.
• Competence—A/IS creators shall specify, and operators shall adhere to, the knowledge and skill required for safe and effective operation.