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Private initiatives: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

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D. International level

V. Private initiatives: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Non-governmental actors have also developed initiatives aimed at developing ethical principles for dealing with AI. In this respect, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) deserves special interest. The IEEE is a New York-based, global professional association of engineers, predominantly in the fields of electrical engineering and information technology. The organisation's goals include the standardisation of techniques, hardware and software.188

Guidelines on the use of AI have also been developed under the umbrella of this organisation.189 Eight principles form their core: respect for human rights;

enhancement of human well-being; preservation of data agency; demonstrable effectiveness, transparency, accountability; awareness of misuse potential; and competence.190

The Guidelines cannot be examined in any detail here, embedded as they are in a relatively profound discussion of ethical issues. Only the recommendations made with regard to respect for human rights will be presented here: It is recommended that "[g]overnance frameworks, including standards and regulatory bodies" be established "to oversee processes ensuring that the use of A/IS [autonomous and intelligent systems] does not infringe upon human rights, freedoms, dignity, and privacy, and of traceability". There is also a need to "translate existing and forthcoming legal obligations into informed policy and technical considerations".

Autonomous and intelligent systems should always be subordinate to human judgement and control. Finally, "[f]or the foreseeable future A/IS should not be granted rights and privileges equal to human rights".191 In all of this, it is made clear that the human rights legal framework is "the floor and not the ceiling" for the standards to which those who create autonomous and intelligent systems must adhere.192

188 https://www.ieee.org.

189 Möslein, RDi 2020, 34, points out that such guidelines can find their way into the applicable law via the general clauses of civil law (Secs. 138, 242, 826 BGB).

190 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, p. 4: "A/IS creators shall specify and operators shall adhere to the knowledge and skill required for safe and effective operation".

191 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, pp. 19 f.

192 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, p. 78.

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The consequences of the increased use of autonomous and intelligent systems for the relationship between employers and employees, as well as labour relations in general, are explicitly, albeit briefly, addressed in these Guidelines: “The impact of A/IS on the workplace and the changing power relationships between workers and employers requires ethical guidance. Issues of data protection and privacy via big data in combination with the use of autonomous systems by employers are increasing, where decisions made via aggregate algorithms directly impact employment prospects. The uncritical use of A/IS in the workplace, and its impact on employee-employer relations, is of utmost concern due to the high chance of error and biased outcome”.193

Furthermore, in a section that is particularly worth reading, the authors emphasise the importance of the willingness and ability to empathise with others:

"Collaboration requires enough commonality of collaborating intelligences to create empathy – the capacity to model the other’s goals based on one’s own". At the same time, however, the importance of autonomy is underlined: "According to scientists within several fields, autonomy is a psychological need. Without it, humans fail to thrive, create, and innovate. Ethically aligned design should support, not hinder, human autonomy or its expression".194 Relatively concrete recommendations are derived from these insights:

“It is important that human workers’ interaction with other workers not always be intermediated by affective systems (or other technology) which may filter out autonomy, innovation, and communication. Human points of contact should remain available to customers and other organizations when using A/IS. Affective systems should be designed to support human autonomy, sense of competence, and meaningful relationships as these are necessary to support a flourishing life. Even where A/IS are less expensive, more predictable, and easier to control than human employees, a core network of human employees should be maintained at every level of decision-making in order to ensure preservation of human autonomy, communication, and innovation. Management and organizational theorists should consider appropriate use of affective and autonomous systems to enhance their

193 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, p. 47. In this respect, an orientation towards the EU's "concept of responsible research and innovation (RRI)" is explicitly recommended; cf. for example Lindner/Goos/Güth/Som/Schröde, "Responsible Research and Innovation als Ansatz für die Forschungs-, Technologie- und Innovationspolitik – Hintergründe und Entwicklungen, Büro für Technikfolgen Abschätzung im Deutschen Bundestag, Hintergrundpaper No. 22, 2016.

194 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, p. 102.

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business models and the efficacy of their workforce within the limits of the preservation of human autonomy”.195

As worthy of note as these statements are, it is at the same time striking that the interests of workers are otherwise only marginally illuminated: At one point the report states: "Employees should be empowered and raise ethical concerns in day-to-day professional practice".196 Another passage addresses the change in work tasks and forms of employment: "For example, rather than carrying out a task themselves, workers will need to shift to supervision of robots performing that task".

Other concerns relate to the change in "traditional employment structures, with an increase in flexible, contract-based temporary jobs without employee protection, and a shift in task composition away from routine/repetitive and towards complex decision-making". In this context, the authors call for two things: opportunities for further education and retraining197 and that in future not only unemployment be measured, but above all the extent of underemployment be determined.198

195 Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, p. 102; cf. also Yeung, A study of the implications of advanced digital technologies (including AI systems) for the concept of responsibility within a human rights framework, Council of Europe, DGI(2019)05, Committee of experts on human rights dimensions of automated data processing and different forms of artificial intelligence (MSI-AUT), 2018, p. 37:

"In addition to [...] concerns about the use of AI technologies to imitate human behaviour are diffuse but often deeply-felt anxieties that our collective life may become increasingly "dehumanised", as tasks previously performed by humans are automated. Many fear that values and qualities that we cherish, including the value of real human interaction, of genuine empathy, compassion and concern, may be replaced by the relentless efficiency and consistency of AI driven services".

196 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, p. 132. See also Friedmann, Ethical concerns with replacing human relations with humanoid robots: an ubuntu perspective. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s43681-022-00186-0.

197 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System, 1st ed., 2019, p. 132; cf. also ibid, p. 153.

198 IEEE, Ethically Aligned Design, - A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent System 1st ed., 2019, p. 153.

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Nel documento Artificial intelligence and labour law (pagine 44-47)