Skip to main content
MIT AI Risk Initiative
BackDesign of AI
Home/Risks/Giarmoleo et al. (2024)/Design of AI
Power-seeking behavior
Algorithm and data

Design of AI

What Ethics Can Say on Artificial Intelligence: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review

Giarmoleo et al. (2024)

SourceDOI
Category
Risk Domain
6Socioeconomic & Environmental
6.1Power centralization and unfair distribution of benefits

AI-driven concentration of power and resources within certain entities or groups, especially those with access to or ownership of powerful AI systems, leading to inequitable distribution of benefits and increased societal inequality.

"ethical concerns regarding how AI is designed and who designs it"(p. 10)

Entity— Who or what caused the harm

Human

Due to a decision or action made by humans

AI system

Due to a decision or action made by an AI system

Other

Due to some other reason or is ambiguous

Intent— Whether the harm was intentional or accidental

Intentional

Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal

Unintentional

Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal

Other

Without clearly specifying the intentionality

Timing— Whether the risk is pre- or post-deployment

Pre-deployment

Occurring before the AI is deployed

Post-deployment

Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed

Other

Without a clearly specified time of occurrence

Sub-categories (4)

Algorithm and data

"More than 20% of the contributions are centered on the ethical dimensions of algorithms and data. This theme can be further categorized into two main subthemes: data bias and algorithm fairness, and algorithm opacity."

1.1 Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
HumanIntentionalPre-deployment

Balancing AI's risks

"This category constitutes more than 16% of the articles and focuses on addressing the potential risks associated with AI systems. Given the ubiquity of AI technologies, these articles explore the implications of AI risks across various contexts linked to design and unpredictability, military purposes, emergency procedures, and AI takeover."

7.3 Lack of capability or robustness
OtherOtherOther

Threats to human institutions and life

"This group comprises 11% of the articles and centers on risks stemming from AI systems designed with malicious intent or that can end up in a threat to human life. It can be divided into two key themes: threats to law and democracy, and transhumanism."

4.2 Cyberattacks, weapon development or use, and mass harm
OtherOtherOther

Uniformity in the AI field

"This group of concerns represents 2% of the sample and highlights two central issues: Western centrality and cultural difference, and unequal participation."

6.1 Power centralization and unfair distribution of benefits
HumanOtherOther

Other risks from Giarmoleo et al. (2024) (9)

Human-AI interaction

5.1 Overreliance and unsafe use
OtherOtherOther

Human-AI interaction > Building a human-AI environment

7.1 AI pursuing its own goals in conflict with human goals or values
OtherOtherOther

Human-AI interaction > Privacy protection

2.1 Compromise of privacy by leaking or correctly inferring sensitive information
OtherOtherOther

Human-AI interaction > Building an AI able to adapt to humans

6.2 Increased inequality and decline in employment quality
OtherOtherOther

Human-AI interaction > Attributing the responsibility for AI's failures

7.4 Lack of transparency or interpretability
OtherOtherOther

Design of AI > Algorithm and data

1.1 Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
HumanIntentionalPre-deployment
View all 9 risks from this paper →