Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Towards a Moral Technology

It is a book made up of questions, some without certain answers, that attempts to open the reader’s mind to new and, perhaps, futuristic scenarios. There are two diametrically opposed approaches to artificial intelligence today. On the one hand, there are the techno-pessimists who see only dystopian scenarios and experience technological progress with apprehension, emphasising the dangers, and on the other hand, there are the techno-optimists who, on the other hand, tend to overestimate the positive effects, going so far as to attribute almost thaumaturgic virtues to technological progress. Our approach is meant to be secular and scientific; the risks must not be concealed, nor must they be overestimated, just as the positive aspects must not be emphasised. And, in any case, as in any social phenomenon, the governance of processes and the definition of a system of rules and policies are the aspects that can create advantages or disadvantages and, above all, can determine who are the beneficiaries of the advantages and who have to bear the disadvantages. Like any new technology, this too can be dehumanising, but technology is a tool that depends on how it is used and by whom it is used. that of ethics is, therefore, a fundamental aspect. Therefore, one should neither be a techno-optimist nor a techno-pessimist, but should be aware that governing the economic and social structural changes that the advent of artificial intelligence will cause will be crucial to ensure prosperity for future generations and to avoid negative and even apocalyptic scenarios. So no futurist dystopias! Humanity has so far always been able to govern technological progress, it certainly has the potential to govern what some have called ’the Final Invention’, but it will only succeed if it is able to understand the peculiarities of this new process of technological development and give it ethical content.The book provides a thoughtful review of the relationship between artificial intelligenceand ethics, approaching the issue from different perspectives: philosophical, technological, economic and legal. This will be one of the most important issues that Humanity will have to face and resolve.