Abstract

AI is moving both faster and slower than the general public realizes — it is being deployed extensively across many domains, but we are also still very, very far away from the sorts of (semi)autonomous robots imagined by Asimov or anyone who watched the Jetsons as a child or watches Westworld today. Overlapping sets of ethical issues are raised by both current stages and domains of AI development and use and by the autonomy and uses we imagine and hope AI will have in the future. What is crucial is that we appreciate and attend to these issues today, so that we can maximize the benefits of this technology for humanity while minimizing the risks.

​Bio

Debra JH Mathews, PhD, MA, is the Assistant Director for Science Programs for the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and affiliate faculty in the Institute of Genetic Medicine. Dr. Mathews earned her PhD in genetics from Case Western Reserve University. Concurrent with her PhD, she earned a Master’s degree in bioethics, also from Case. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in genetics at Johns Hopkins, and the Greenwall Fellowship in Bioethics and Health Policy at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities. Dr. Mathews has also spent time at the Genetics and Public Policy Center, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, working in various capacities on science policy. Dr. Mathews’s academic work focuses on ethics and policy issues raised by emerging biotechnologies.