The Cyber Valley Public Advisory Board (PAB) is an independent committee that analyzes the ethical and social implications of intelligent systems. The Advisory Board’s role is to advise Cyber Valley GmbH, raise critical issues and participate in discussions about AI and its social and ethical aspects. The PAB members were appointed by the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Science. They represent a broad spectrum of relevant disciplines and backgrounds.
Citizens, whose lives will be increasingly impacted by intelligent systems in the future, have a right to research that is ethically and socially responsible.
Core task
The Public Advisory Board (PAB) aims to promote awareness and knowledge about ethical and societal concerns related to artificial intelligence (AI). It sits at the intersection between Cyber Valley’s research work and the public’s interests. It promotes the ethical and social capacity to discuss and act in relation to AI, particularly amongst people who are active in and with Cyber Valley.
Contexts
The use of artificial intelligence has now become the norm. Nevertheless, the field remains controversial: Applications of artificial intelligence can improve human life and the environment, but they can also carry considerable risks. These systems can, for example, exacerbate discrimination and the exclusion of vulnerable groups, alter social relationships and human interaction, concentrate power and influence in the hands of a few actors, entrench dependencies on individual companies and infrastructures, cause significant environmental damage, and create new military applications. A key challenge for the future is to shape and utilizethe opportunities offered by AI systems in such a way that they benefit as many people as possible and their environment, whilst minimizing the risks.
The responsibility for the research done in Cyber Valley lies with the individual researchers themselves. It is primarily their responsibility to recognize and assess the potential impact of their work and to develop a research culture that critically and proactively reflects consequences. It is the aim of the PAB to support and encourage researchers to develop a culture in which there is a vital awareness of the importance of the ethical and social questions posed by their research.
Consequences
Caught between the conflicting demands of research interests and research responsibility, the PAB represents an innovation in science policy and society.
Its focus is on dialogue and giving advice based on sound arguments. It has neither the mandate nor the authority and usually not the interest to hinder or prevent research but rather to promote research that is ethically and socially responsible.
The Board is actively committed to supporting researchers develop the capacity for ethical argumentation and ethical action.
The PAB’s aims to:
- to promote the best possible interdisciplinary dialogue,
- encourage broadest possible dialogue between science and society, and
- contribute to informed political debates on the effects of AI on society.