What do you think?
Rate this book
AI Morality
A philosophical task force explores how AI is revolutionizing our lives - and what moral problems it might bring, showing us what to be wary of, and what to be hopeful for.
There is no more important issue at present than artificial intelligence. AI has begun to penetrate almost every sphere of human activity. It will disrupt our lives entirely. David Edmonds brings together a team of leading philosophers to explore some of the urgent moral concerns we should have about this revolution. The chapters are rich with examples from contemporary society and imaginative projections of the future. The contributors investigate problems we're all aware of, and introduce some that will be new to many readers. They discuss self and identity, health and insurance, politics and manipulation, the environment, work, law, policing, and defence. Each of them explains the issue in a lively and illuminating way, and takes a view about how we should think and act in response. Anyone who is wondering what ethical challenges the future holds for us can start here.
There is no more important issue at present than artificial intelligence. AI has begun to penetrate almost every sphere of human activity. It will disrupt our lives entirely. David Edmonds brings together a team of leading philosophers to explore some of the urgent moral concerns we should have about this revolution. The chapters are rich with examples from contemporary society and imaginative projections of the future. The contributors investigate problems we're all aware of, and introduce some that will be new to many readers. They discuss self and identity, health and insurance, politics and manipulation, the environment, work, law, policing, and defence. Each of them explains the issue in a lively and illuminating way, and takes a view about how we should think and act in response. Anyone who is wondering what ethical challenges the future holds for us can start here.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
Published November 7, 2024
13 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 16, 2025
I think the title ‘AI Morality’ is a bit of a misnomer, as the moral issue here is not the existence of AGI and beyond – we are well on our way down that slippery slope by now for such an idea to be stuffed back into Pandora’s Box.
Instead, this book largely examines human interaction with AI, and how bad actors can use the technology to commit any array of nefarious activities, from simple bot trolling and impersonating people to spreading propaganda, disinformation, and inciting civil unrest flashpoints in vulnerable areas and communities.
What comes through strongly is that it is not AI we need to worry about, but the people who are actively brainstorming its potential to reap havoc, profit, or just plain old revolution. As per usual, governments and politicians have been caught flatfooted by the exponential pace of evolution (yes, this is definitely evolution in action, even if it is not carbon-based.)
This has left a of loopholes and opportunities for cyber criminals and con artists to flourish; no doubt many governments are seriously accelerating their research into the surveillance and military potential of AI. There are four main sections: ‘Defence, Health & Law’, ‘Politics & Governance’, ‘Work & Play’, ‘Manipulation, Autonomy & Algorithms’, and ‘Identity & Values’.
As David Edmonds warns in his Introduction, the problem of bias – especially in training LLMs, for example – “rather than AI overcoming human irrationality and prejudice, it may actually entrench it.” Related to bias is the perhaps trickier issue of accountability, especially when it comes to algorithms. An important theme of this timely book is how AI is going to enhance and detract from human life and experience as we know it at present, from the world of work to entertainment:
Some philosophers and computer scientists believe that we're approaching the time when we have to recognize AI as having ethical status. This is hugely contentious. But there's a much more immediate and practical matter of how we prevent AI from acting in ways that are alien to human values.
We all care about these aspects of our lives. The rise of AI will force us to reflect on them more deeply and to revise our attitudes and our understanding of their significance.
Instead, this book largely examines human interaction with AI, and how bad actors can use the technology to commit any array of nefarious activities, from simple bot trolling and impersonating people to spreading propaganda, disinformation, and inciting civil unrest flashpoints in vulnerable areas and communities.
What comes through strongly is that it is not AI we need to worry about, but the people who are actively brainstorming its potential to reap havoc, profit, or just plain old revolution. As per usual, governments and politicians have been caught flatfooted by the exponential pace of evolution (yes, this is definitely evolution in action, even if it is not carbon-based.)
This has left a of loopholes and opportunities for cyber criminals and con artists to flourish; no doubt many governments are seriously accelerating their research into the surveillance and military potential of AI. There are four main sections: ‘Defence, Health & Law’, ‘Politics & Governance’, ‘Work & Play’, ‘Manipulation, Autonomy & Algorithms’, and ‘Identity & Values’.
As David Edmonds warns in his Introduction, the problem of bias – especially in training LLMs, for example – “rather than AI overcoming human irrationality and prejudice, it may actually entrench it.” Related to bias is the perhaps trickier issue of accountability, especially when it comes to algorithms. An important theme of this timely book is how AI is going to enhance and detract from human life and experience as we know it at present, from the world of work to entertainment:
Some philosophers and computer scientists believe that we're approaching the time when we have to recognize AI as having ethical status. This is hugely contentious. But there's a much more immediate and practical matter of how we prevent AI from acting in ways that are alien to human values.
We all care about these aspects of our lives. The rise of AI will force us to reflect on them more deeply and to revise our attitudes and our understanding of their significance.
October 4, 2025
citEști „AI Morality”, editat de David Edmonds: Consensul inteligenței
CITAT„Dacă în viitor economiștii vor ignora problema sensului, încercările lor de a înțelege munca doar prin studiul salariilor va semăna cu încercarea de a înțelege o piesă muzicală doar din studiul notelor de pe pagină, fără să asculți sunetele din timpul interpretării”. p.88, Daniel Susskind în „AI Morality”, editat de David Edmonds, Oxford University Press, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTMKc...
Dintre toate modurile în care vezi inteligența artificială s-ar putea să auzi mai rar de etică în domeniu. „AI Morality” este o selecție de eseuri care îți vorbește despre nevoia de echilibru între beneficii și riscuri etice când e vorba de algoritmi, identitate și valori. Dar cel mai tare te surprinde cât de strâns legată rămâne problematica acestui aspect tehnic de esența experienței umane: cum capătă sens ceea ce altfel ar fi doar muncă.
CITAT„Această stare de lucruri este problematică mai ales pentru că dezechilibrează scopul ideal al recomandărilor care ar trebui să sprijine alegerea liberă a utilizatorului”. p.147 Silvia Milano în „AI Morality”, editat de David Edmonds, Oxford University Press, 2024
CITAT„Dacă în viitor economiștii vor ignora problema sensului, încercările lor de a înțelege munca doar prin studiul salariilor va semăna cu încercarea de a înțelege o piesă muzicală doar din studiul notelor de pe pagină, fără să asculți sunetele din timpul interpretării”. p.88, Daniel Susskind în „AI Morality”, editat de David Edmonds, Oxford University Press, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTMKc...
Dintre toate modurile în care vezi inteligența artificială s-ar putea să auzi mai rar de etică în domeniu. „AI Morality” este o selecție de eseuri care îți vorbește despre nevoia de echilibru între beneficii și riscuri etice când e vorba de algoritmi, identitate și valori. Dar cel mai tare te surprinde cât de strâns legată rămâne problematica acestui aspect tehnic de esența experienței umane: cum capătă sens ceea ce altfel ar fi doar muncă.
CITAT„Această stare de lucruri este problematică mai ales pentru că dezechilibrează scopul ideal al recomandărilor care ar trebui să sprijine alegerea liberă a utilizatorului”. p.147 Silvia Milano în „AI Morality”, editat de David Edmonds, Oxford University Press, 2024
August 5, 2025
Six main themes: autonomy, bias, responsibility, privacy/security/transparency, meaning, value/morality.
December 6, 2025
Solid collection of essays. Some are better than others but none are overly long. Only two of them (10 & 17) struck me as outright silly.
December 24, 2024
A collection of short essays covering various topics in AI ethics. A great introduction to the field!
The book is written in accessible language and doesn't presume any background knowledge in philosophy or computer science. This makes it a perfect for anyone who is interested in AI ethics but is new to reading philosophy. It's also great starting point for someone who (like myself) is familiar with philosophy more broadly, but wants to learn about AI ethics for the first time.
Overall, I really enjoyed most of the chapters. Some highlights include: Binesh Hass' chapter on AI and discrimination, Muriel Leuenberger's chapter on whether we should let AI tell us how to live our lives, and John Zerilli's chapter defending AI ethics (and ethics more broadly) as a worthy pursuit to an audience of 'STEM sceptics'.
The book is written in accessible language and doesn't presume any background knowledge in philosophy or computer science. This makes it a perfect for anyone who is interested in AI ethics but is new to reading philosophy. It's also great starting point for someone who (like myself) is familiar with philosophy more broadly, but wants to learn about AI ethics for the first time.
Overall, I really enjoyed most of the chapters. Some highlights include: Binesh Hass' chapter on AI and discrimination, Muriel Leuenberger's chapter on whether we should let AI tell us how to live our lives, and John Zerilli's chapter defending AI ethics (and ethics more broadly) as a worthy pursuit to an audience of 'STEM sceptics'.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews