Is Artificial Intelligence the Most Significant Issue Facing Bioethics Today?

According to what we are seeing, hearing, and reading, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most significant issue facing bioethics. Some critics think that this belief overestimates the significance of AI, but I am convinced otherwise.

The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, a catholic bioethics think tank, also agrees. In previous years, the academy’s focus has been on ethical issues like abortion and end-of-life, but with the rapid emergence of AI, it has decided to include it as a topic that demands greater attention. In 2020s “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” the academy stated that ethical guidelines need to be in place for Artificial Intelligence to further develop and progress. Several technology companies invested in AI agreed with this assessment and signed the document, including Microsoft and IBM.

In my opinion, ethical guidelines must be in place to curtail unethical and immoral actions AI may attempt. I believe that AI can and should be used to aid humanity, not harm it. Furthermore, it should be promoted as a supportive tool to help us become better, more efficient human beings. Some may disagree, but I think that it would be unethical to use AI in war or any form of misappropriation that causes greater harm to humanity.

If used properly, Artificial Intelligence will aid in equalizing educational opportunities that never existed for citizens around the world. But if it is not, AI will cause greater disparity among people who do not have access to digital technology. The choice is up to us. It is what we do now that makes all the difference in the world.

Ethically speaking,

Obiora N. Anekwe