The paper by Simone Casiraghi titled “Anything new under the sun? Insights from a history of institutionalized AI ethics” was published on the journal Ethics and Information Technology.
Contrary to some mainstream narratives, which stress how the increasing attention to ethical aspects of AI is due to the fast pace and increasing risks of technological developments, the article highlights that the rise of institutionalized assessment methods indicates a need for governments to gain more control of scientific research and to bring EU institutions closer to the public on controversies related to emerging technologies.
The focus of the article is on how a brief history of the institutionalization of “ethical" approaches of the recent past (i.e. bioethics, technology assessment (TA) and ethical, legal and social (ELS) research, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)) can provide insights into present challenges to the ethics of AI related to methodological issues, mobilization of expertise and public participation.