In the current environment characterized by the rapid advancement and widespread adoption of AI technologies, including generative AI and chatGPT, there has been a proliferation of ethical guidelines formulated and disseminated by various organizations. The centrality of ethics in informing AI development is underscored in OBVIA's latest report"Ethics at the Heart of AI." However, there are prevalent misconceptions surrounding AI. It is "often hijacked for strategic and marketing purposes for the benefit of a productivist ideology." Additionally, ethics is sometimes erroneously equated with "meeting a technical requirement that is the basis of engineering."

Furthermore, ethics is often reduced to a mere checklist. In this view, the success of AI developers and organizations is measured against a set of predetermined criteria, as if adherence to this checklist was the ultimate goal and final output of ethical practice. However, this perspective is flawed, as "there is no such thing as ‘ready-made’ ethics: there are no formulae or algorithms for applying ethical principles." Contrarily, ethics should be understood as a dynamic, deliberative process that "requires a plurality of viewpoints to open up the field of possibilities and build the commonalities that will enable us to better define this new togetherness with technology." To facilitate this, it is imperative to establish and maintain spaces dedicated to ethical deliberation "where communities can assess technological needs and options, as well as their impact."

In light of these considerations, Prof. Langlois and her team offer five principal recommendations:

1. Offer to actors in the science and technology sectors training activities on AI and ethics that include a perspective from the humanities and social sciences.

2. Support the development of an ethical competency among AI researchers and developers, law makers, and other actors involved in the development, marketing, use and regulation of AI.

3. Through conferences, workshops and other activities opened to a large audience, increase the awareness of citizens with regard to the various social impacts and ethical challenges related to the development and deployment of AI.

4. Through a participative and interdisciplinary perspective that involves citizens as well as civil society organisations, create spaces, instances and other mechanisms that promote reflection, discussion and evaluation of AI technologies and their use.

5. Put in place in universities and public organisations interdisciplinary committees specific to AI and computer or robotic technologies.

During her visit at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Prof. Langlois introduced OBVIA, shared and discussed their latest report with the Institute's research community and with experts from international Geneva:

• Adam Day, Head of the Geneva Office of UN University Centre for Policy Research

• Dongyoun Cho, Senior Researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)

• Hassan Thuillard, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN Office

• Illan Acher, Human Rights Education Manager, Amnesty International

• Isabelle Lois, Senior Policy Advisor, Federal Office of Communications OFCOM

• Jérôme Duberry, Managing Director of the Tech Hub

• Lennig Pedron, CEO of Trust Valley and Director EPFL Innovation Park

• Simon Perdrisat, Scientific Collaborator at Bureau de la Stratégie numérique HES-SO Genève

This visit is one among several activities we are undertaking on AI leading up to our involvement in the Davos AI House. The next public event on civil society participation in AI governance will take place on Monday, December 4.

A podcast featuring Prof. Langlois has been recorded and is scheduled for release in early 2024.

Short bio of Lyse Langlois:

Lyse Langlois (Ph.D.) is Director General of the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology (OBVIA). She has been a full professor in the Department of Industrial Relations at Université Laval since 2002 in human resources management, work ethics and professionalism. She has also been a researcher at the Institut d’éthique appliquée (IDÉA, Institute of Applied Ethics) since its foundation and became Director of this Institute in 2016. She is a regular researcher at the Interuniversity Research Center on the Globalization and Work (CRIMT) and an associate researcher associated with the Chaire Éthique et gouvernement d’entreprise de Paris Dauphine (Paris Dauphine Ethics and Corporate Governance Chair). Lyse Langlois received the Willower Award of Excellence in October 2018 for the exceptional nature of her scientific contribution in the theoretical and practical field of ethical reasoning and decision making.