Institute for Ethics in AI

Description

The Institute for Ethics in AI brings together leading philosophers and experts in the humanities with AI developers and users in academia, business, and government. The ethics and governance of AI is a thriving field of research at Oxford University, and the Institute aims to build upon this foundation.
Part of the Philosophy Faculty, the Institute is located in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at the University of Oxford. It was established in June 2019 through a generous donation from Stephen A. Schwarzman and officially launched in February 2021 with a panel event focused on AI in a Democratic Culture.

The Institute's core belief is that a robust and rigorous approach to the various challenges and opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence requires a strong grounding in philosophy and the humanities. Two fundamental themes emerge as the pillars of the Institute's work: human rights, which encompass essential ethical principles safeguarding human dignity, and democracy, the political system that best upholds human rights and other valuable objectives like peace.

Four decades ago, philosophers played a significant role in shaping the field of medical ethics. Now a critical juncture has been reached where a similar ethical intervention is necessary to address the questions arising from the rise of AI.

Each day brings new instances of ethical dilemmas posed by AI, ranging from facial recognition and voter profiling to brain-machine interfaces and weaponised drones. Additionally, ongoing discussions explore the global impact of AI on employment. This work is both urgent and important, and members aim to promote it internationally while incorporating it into their research and teaching at Oxford.

Research themes at the Institute encompass:

• AI and Democracy
• AI and Human Rights
• AI and the Environment
• AI and Governance
• AI and Human Well-Being
• AI and Society

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

Founding year

2021

Contact details

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University affiliation(s)

University of Oxford
Oxford