rlm@63: #+title: Ethics of Mind's Eye
rlm@63: #+author: Robert McIntyre
rlm@63: #+email: rlm@mit.edu
rlm@63: #+description: 
rlm@63: #+keywords: 
rlm@63: #+SETUPFILE: ../../aurellem/org/setup.org
rlm@63: #+INCLUDE: ../../aurellem/org/level-0.org
rlm@63: #+babel: :mkdirp yes :noweb yes :exports both
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: * COMMENT Ethical Considerations Regarding DARPA's Mind's Eye Program
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: As scientists and engineers, it is our sacred duty to explore the
rlm@63: boundaries of human knowledge in a responsible way. We are part of the
rlm@63: larger organism of humanity, and tasked with discovering new things
rlm@63: that help the race first, and all life second.
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: While knowledge and non-sentient technology is neither morally good or
rlm@63: evil, the things we discover are embedded in a wider cultural context,
rlm@63: and in many cases it is possible to foresee possible uses and abuses
rlm@63: our new technology will enable.
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: It is naive to think that the government or any group of humans is
rlm@63: either wholly good or evil, but by reasoning from the
rlm@63: motivations/power of such groups, we can try to infer whether a
rlm@63: technology will improve the lot of humanity or not.
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: It is possible to give and institution/culture a technology that they
rlm@63: will enthusiastically accept, but which will greatly diminish their
rlm@63: quality of life.
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: Some examples:
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: PGP -- an encryption suite that can help individuals to send messages
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: * Questions
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: - What should our ethical place be in deciding whether or not to
rlm@63:   pursue research?
rlm@63: 
rlm@63:   - Follow orders, assume our overall culture will use things
rlm@63:     responsibly, and leave the ethical considerations to the
rlm@63:     government/people.
rlm@63:     
rlm@63:     - Many scientists who worked on the atomic bomb later questioned
rlm@63:       their decisions.
rlm@63:     - Yet, an advanced society /should/ have atomic weapons, if for
rlm@63:       nothing else than to defend themselves from meteors, blow shit
rlm@63:       up, etc.
rlm@63:    
rlm@63:   - We are each morally responsible for the things we help create. We
rlm@63:     are responsible for the misuses of technology we develop and the
rlm@63:     pain and suffering it causes. Ultimately our contributions to
rlm@63:     society will be judged by whether our technology did more good
rlm@63:     than bad.
rlm@63: 
rlm@63: - If we decide that we *are* morally responsible for the technology we
rlm@63:   develop, then is the Mind's Eye project in particular something we
rlm@63:   should be doing?
rlm@63:   
rlm@63:   - Here are some things you can build with Mind's Eye tech:
rlm@63: 
rlm@63:     - System to monitor single humans living alone and call for help
rlm@63:       in the case of emergencies (such as a fall)
rlm@63: 
rlm@63:     - Same system for hospitals and nursing homes (of course, this
rlm@63:       also makes them even more impersonal)
rlm@63: 
rlm@63:     - The equivalent of a FBI special agent watching everything you do
rlm@63:       from the moment you step out your door to the moment you go back
rlm@63:       to your house to sleep, building a dossier of every move you
rlm@63:       make, everyone you talk to, where you shop, etc.
rlm@63: 
rlm@63:     - A concentration camp / prison that is ABSOLUTELY impossible to
rlm@63:       escape from.
rlm@63: 
rlm@63:     - Many other countries that don't care as much about human rights
rlm@63:       as America will use this technology to monitor their citizens
rlm@63:       24/7. 
rlm@63: 
rlm@63:     - Protection from surveillance in you own home does not apply
rlm@63:       unless you *own* your house. Say goodbye to privacy in school
rlm@63:       dorms, apartments, rented houses, etc.
rlm@63:     
rlm@63:   - People are OK with current surveillance because it is
rlm@63:     *dumb*. Mostly people only use security camera footage in the case
rlm@63:     of crimes, and it is a painstaking process because it requires
rlm@63:     manual human intervention. With AI, this will soon not be the
rlm@63:     case.
rlm@63: