MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Discuss the moral ramifications of artificial intelligence (AI) in governance, emphasising the possibility for prejudice and discrimination. Provide suggestions for implementing ethical AI.
GS IV – Ethics related issues
Introduction:
- Artificial intelligence, or AI, is the term used to describe how computers, particularly computer systems, may simulate human intelligence processes. These processes include reasoning (using rules to arrive at approximations or firm conclusions), self-correction, and learning (acquiring knowledge and rules for applying it).
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Governance:
Data Bias:
- Large volumes of data are necessary for AI systems to be trained. On the other hand, biassed data can cause the AI systems to reinforce preexisting biases in society.
- For instance, skewed training data has led to the discovery of racial and gender biases in face recognition algorithms.
- Amazon’s AI Recruitment Tool: In 2018, Amazon eliminated an AI recruitment tool that it found to be biassed against women by consistently lowering the ratings of female applicants. Because the algorithm was trained primarily on resumes from men, the results were skewed.
Discriminating Results:
- Decision-making processes fueled by artificial intelligence have the potential to produce biassed results. One example of this is the criminal justice system, where predictive algorithms have come under fire for unfairly singling out minority communities.
- ProPublica’s Analysis of COMPAS: ProPublica’s study of the US criminal justice system’s use of the COMPAS algorithm exposed serious racial biases, with African American defendants being more likely than their white counterparts to be assigned a higher risk classification.
Absence of Openness:
- The intricacy of AI algorithms frequently leads to a lack of openness, making it challenging to comprehend the decision-making process.
- This opacity can increase worries about justice and fairness while impeding accountability.
Privacy Issues:
- Large volumes of personal data are frequently accessed by AI technology, which poses serious privacy issues.
- People’s rights and freedoms may be violated by unauthorised access to or misuse of this data.
- The use of facial recognition technology in police body cameras was outlawed for three years in 2020, becoming California the first state in the US to do so. In response to worries about invasions of privacy and possible biases in face recognition software, this decision was taken.
Possible Remedies for the Application of Ethical AI:
Methods for Mitigating Bias:
- AI systems can be made less biassed by putting strategies like data preparation, algorithmic auditing, and diverse training datasets into practice.
- For example, businesses like as IBM have created instruments to identify and address bias in AI models.
Openness and Definability:
- Providing AI algorithms with openness and explainability helps improve trust and responsibility.
- Governments have the authority to require the disclosure of AI decision-making procedures and to set up channels for people to question and comprehend the decisions made by algorithms.
Standards and Guidelines for Ethics:
- It is essential to create and uphold ethical rules and guidelines for the use of AI.
- Frameworks such as the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and the EU’s Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI have been proposed by organisations such as the IEEE and the EU.
Engagement of Diverse Stakeholders:
- The identification and resolution of ethical issues from a variety of angles can be facilitated by involving a wide range of stakeholders in the design, development, and implementation of AI systems, including ethicists, legislators, technologists, and impacted communities.
Regulatory Monitoring:
- Strong regulatory frameworks must be established by governments to control the application of AI in governance.
- This includes sanctions for non-compliance as well as procedures for assessing the accountability, fairness, and openness of AI systems.
- When implementing AI in governance, ethical issues must be taken into account in order to guarantee accountability, transparency, and justice. Governments can navigate the ethical complexities of AI while maximising its potential for positive societal impact by enforcing regulatory oversight, implementing bias mitigation techniques, promoting transparency and explainability, establishing ethical guidelines, engaging diverse stakeholders, and so on.
Q2. Examine how whistleblowing helps to advance accountability and openness in public administration. Also analyze its moral and legal implications.
GS IV – Governance related issues
Introduction:
- The act of revealing information regarding unlawful, immoral, or damaging acts occurring within a company is known as whistleblowing, and it is essential to the advancement of accountability and openness in public administration.
- A system for receiving and looking into public interest disclosures regarding acts of corruption, deliberate misuse of authority or discretion, or criminal crimes by public servants was established in India under The Whistle-blower Protection Act, 2014.
Encouraging Openness and Truth:
- A potent instrument for exposing hidden realities in public management is whistleblowing. Whistleblowers reveal covert actions that violate openness norms by disclosing fraud, corruption, or mismanagement.
- For example, the amount of government intrusion into private was made clear by Edward Snowden’s revelations concerning widespread spying by the NSA, which sparked discussions on surveillance ethics throughout the world.
Encouraging Responsibility:
- An essential component of efficient governance is accountability. By guaranteeing that public servants are held accountable for their conduct, whistleblowing serves as a check on the misuse of authority.
- Situations like the Watergate affair, in which informants revealed political wrongdoing that resulted in the US President’s resignation at the time, demonstrate the critical role that whistleblowing plays in keeping authorities responsible.
Dimensions of Ethics:
- Whistleblowing acts are motivated by ethical considerations. When they must choose between their moral obligation to expose wrongdoing and their organization’s loyalty, whistleblowers frequently encounter moral conundrums.
- Whistleblowing is encouraged when it advances the public interest, even if it goes against organisational allegiance, according to the utilitarian ethical theory, which places a higher priority on the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Legal Aspects:
- Each jurisdiction has a different set of laws protecting whistleblowers. While some nations have strong laws protecting whistleblowers, others don’t have enough protections, making whistleblowers open to reprisals.
- To encourage the revelation of wrongdoing, the United States, for example, passed the Whistleblower Protection Act, 1989, which protected government employees from retaliation.
Obstacles and Dangers:
- Risks and difficulties are inherent in the act of whistleblowing. Whistleblowers frequently experience reprisal, which can take many forms, from harassment to job termination, endangering their lives and careers.
- The story of Chelsea Manning, who was imprisoned after disclosing secret papers that revealed war crimes, highlights the hardships whistleblowers may undergo on a personal level.
- Institutional support is necessary for whistleblowing systems to be effective. Clear policies and procedures must be established by organisations for reporting misbehaviour, together with guarantees of anonymity and non-retaliation.
- For instance, setting up whistleblower hotlines in business environments gives staff members a safe way to report misconduct in confidence and in confidence.
Public View and Its Effects:
- The way that the public views whistleblowers varies greatly, depending on a number of social, political, and cultural issues. Whistleblowers are seen as brave truth-seekers by some, traitors or troublemakers by others.
- Whistleblowing, the media, and public discourse are all intertwined; how whistleblowers are portrayed in the media has the power to sway public opinion and impact policy responses.
Worldwide Views:
- The worldwide ramifications of whistleblowing for accountability and governance extend beyond national borders. International organisations are essential in promoting a transparent culture and fighting for the protection of whistleblowers.
- The rise of websites such as WikiLeaks, which allow for the anonymous release of secret material, highlights the international scope of whistleblowing activities.
- Transparency and accountability in public administration are fundamental to whistleblowing, which goes beyond moral, legal, and pragmatic considerations. Maintaining democratic values and advancing good governance internationally depend on respecting the rights and protections of whistleblowers. The Watergate affair, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning are just a few instances of how whistleblowing has revolutionised public conversation and responsibility.
