Ethics and AI

The many promises of AI have also come hand and hand with an array of ethical challenges from the existential (if AI become smarter than humans will they want to keep us around?) to the practical (who is using the data going into this system and to what end?). We can see some of these concerns, specific to geoscientists higlighted in AGU's Ethical and Responsible Use of AI/ML in the Earth, Space, and Environmental Sciences and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics Recommendations for the Geoscience Community from the International Association for Promoting Geoethics

With the rise of generative AI the associated set of ethical issues is even more in the public eye. As geoscience educators we need to be making informed decisions about our own use, be thoughtful about what we ask of our students, and be prepared as they come to the classroom with a range of perspectives on these important issues.

Get Familiar with the Ethical Issues Surrounding AI

One useful starting point is this set of articles from Leon Furze which frames things in terms of:

Get Guidance from the Teaching GeoEthics Across the Geoscience Curriculum site 

This site covers the what, why and how of integrating ethical education into your geoscience classroom.  It can provide inspiration and practical examples of how to navigate these open-ended issues. You may also find the Teaching Controversial Topics information from the Affective Domain site useful in thinking about how to approach this pedagogically.

Environmental Impact of AI as Topic for Student Exploration

There is ongoing discussion about the environmental impacts of datacenters and AI.  Digging into the details could be an excellent exercise in a range of Earth-related courses.

  • What do we know about the impact AI is having on energy and water use?  What data is relevant and how accurate is it?
  • How do these impacts compare to other sources we're more familiar with?
  • What are the predictions for how this will change over time?  Who's making those predictions and what are their motivations?
  • How might individual (student?) choices impact those outcomes?

This is an issue that could open the door to student exploration of a variety of quantitatively rich topics and the broader issue of geoethics.   "We did the math on AI's energy footprint. Here's the story you haven't heard." from MIT Technology Review is one place students might start digging into this issue.

As with disciplinary norms around AI, our understanding and the facts on the ground informing these ethical issues are rapidly changing. We need to be wrestling with these issues as individuals and as a community of educators.

How are you navigating the ethical issues associated with AI?