What is “thoughtfulness” in AI Ethics Audits?

Recipient: Jocelyn Wong, majoring in Cognitive Science

Project Overview: The increase in regulatory activities in AI has led to a rise in auditing frameworks to hold designers of machine learning systems accountable, namely the increased number of AI ethics consultancies offering audit services. Unlike traditional engineering domains, the AI industry has yet to develop a standard for conducting meaningful and effective audits of ML systems. This results in reports that could provide a false sense of security for those requesting audits, independent of the quality and rigour of the audit conducted for a system or company. This project aims to hold the AI ethics auditors responsible and accelerate the processes of standardising AI ethics audits by investigating what constitutes a “thoughtful” report.

SUPERVISORS

Jocelyn Maclure is a professor & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Human Nature and Technology at McGill University's Department of Philosophy. His research is primarily in ethics and political philosophy. His recent work on artificial intelligence and on end-of-life issues led him to explore different metaphysical questions ranging from the mind-body problem to the enigma of personal identity.

AJung Moon is a professor at McGill University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She is an experimental roboticist specializing in ethics and responsible design of interactive robots and autonomous intelligent systems. She studies how our interaction with machines influence people's behaviours and decisions, and investigates different ways to integrate our societal values in the design and deployment of autonomous systems.