Ethics and Responsibility
When we are looking at ethics, we are looking at defining what we morally see as right and wrong, good or bad, and the principles/values that guide our actions.
Ethics can be divided into three main areas:
Meta-ethics – Nature and origin of ethical concepts, language, and judgment. [identify]
Normative ethics – The content and criteria of moral rules and principles. [exploration]
Applied ethics – Application of ethical theories and principles. [Application]
Once we remove the ‘human’ element ethical considerations can be called into question and this is largely why A.I. within the creative sector is such a hot topic for debate at present.
Questions regarding:
- Ownership - Accountability
- Access
- Authenticity
- Accuracy
Ownership:
With how AI works to generate content the BIGGEST identified issue is that of ownership with data being often sourced from online libraries and consent on where and who gave permission for the training libraries to use the whole topic of ownership and copyright is brought into question.
Who owns the algorithms? Who owns the libraries and who owns the final output?
Responsible users should clarify where and when an image has been generated or enhanced by AI tools BUT will studios follow this….
Access:
One of the ways AI could be used as an accessible and responsible tool could be in making content more accessible to audiences who may have specific needs or can’t speak certain languages whereby translation or subtitle options may not be available or offered.
AI can redub and even emulate people’s speech patterns and tones and remap mouth movements to make the dubbed speech seem more fluid and in keeping with the action, the issue here is whether this would put people out of work who work on translation and dubbing.
Authenticity and Accuracy:
AI can generate articles, videos, and photos with incredible speed due to them emulating human speech and written word patterns, but does this mean we can trust what it outputs? Much like Wikipedia articles and images can be adjusted and are often surface level.
AI is starting to be combined with deepfake and neural machine learning tools to make more realistic and believable media as such it is becoming more and more important for consumers to be able to sift through information and not take what they see or hear as fact.
Real World Impact
It is early days to fully measure the impact AI will have on the creative sector but with companies such as Adobe already facing legal trouble we can expect to see more.
SAG-AFTRA Strike – Job Security
Part of the 2023 writer and actors strike was regarding how studios are using AI to digitally replace real actors’ likenesses and voices alongside writing scripts and not pay fair wages to staff.
This has raised concerns about people’s value within the industry and the craft alongside the potential impacts on creativity and freedom of expression and ownership.
Studio perspective-wise however argument is AI can make production cheaper and more streamlined thus equalling more content designed to match audience trends.
‘Keep it Human, Keep it Clear, AI to augment and ideate not replace’
Creativity vs Efficiency
Trends and habitats play a huge role in what is largely seen by the industry as successful or not and this does not always mean the most creative and innovative piece is seen as the most successful, we see this all the time with sequels and series’ being cancelled or not renewed as expectations on return don’t always meet consumer requirements.
AI can be a great tool to ideate quickly whilst keeping costs down and allowing indie studios opportunities otherwise only afforded by larger studios however this is as long as tools remain open source.
Ethics roundup
Ultimately AI may reflect or amplify human biases and may not be trained on data that is diverse or representative enough and thus prove unfair.
Privacy – Trends and habitats alongside search terms and outputs may be collected although this has been the case well before AI was public-facing.
Misinformation, Intellectual property rights.
This is why clear and enforced standards and regulations are required and it is partially our place as media practitioners to enact the change we want to face.
Whilst audiences want ready-to-access quick content and studios focus on the bottom line ultimately what is most cost-effective will win out whether this is good or bad is up to you.
Responsible Rules and Code of Conduct
Codes of ethics and use of AI are currently still a work in progress in many countries and are not yet fully defined BUT we can explore some responsible rules of thumb we should consider and that seems like common sense.
Clarify where and how AI has been used in production pipelines
Try and use AI to ideate and concept or enhance not replace
Artistic integrity and human involvement are required
Empower users to be aware of benefits and processes, and reassure staff – Ultimately it is not the BIG BAD but rather another tool to use not replace, and should be seen akin to when the printing press was introduced yes it changed jobs but ultimately offered new opportunities.
Check authenticity and accuracy
There are already some laws and practices that tie into AI use legislation such as the OECD AI principle, trade unions, copyright law, and legal laws that define what is appropriate and legal.