Grappling with the Gray #37: I, Robot?

Grappling with the Gray

Are the ethics between human beings different from the ethics between Man and Machine?
That's what we'll be investigating in this week's episode of Grappling with the Gray.
Here is our ethics challenge:
In 1955, Walter M. Miller won the first ever Hugo Award for his science fiction novelette, The Darfsteller, the story of a former actor who had refused to let his persona be digitalized when robot actors replaced real ones.
The unveiling of ChatGPT is the latest example of life imitating art. The new technology mimics human writing so perfectly that it may be impossible to tell the difference between the two.
Consider the consequences: The entire writing profession may become extinct. High school teachers and college professors won’t be able to tell whether students did their own work. Source materials will be appropriated without regard for citation or copyright infringement.
Then there’s the influence on lobbying. Comments submitted in the regulatory process might be computer generated. Anyone with the software could do from their kitchen table what the Russian Internet Research Agency did in its attempt to influence our 2016 elections, with far less overhead and far more precision.
In the Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, creators of Google, Facebook, and Apple recount how horrified they are at the creations they unleashed on society, but we don’t seem to be learning from their experience.
What are some other ethical consequences of this technology? And once we release into the world technology that promotes, encourages, and even necessitates unethical behavior, what options do we have for preserving an ethical society?
Meet this week’s panelists:
Paul Edwards used to drive large military vehicles through the deserts of the Middle East, armed with an assault rifle. Today, his occupation of ghostwriting requires him to ask questions first, and shoot later.”
K Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski Hirotsu Ziemski is Founder of KSP Partnership, providing project management and project leadership courses and workshops to improve team dynamics and communications.
Sarah Kalmeta aka Sara the Pivoter, is founder of Pivot Point, a career transition coach, author, and podcast host.