Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Intergenerational Responsibility

Victor Klockmann (1, 2) , Alicia von Schenk (1, 2) , Marie Claire Villeval (3, 4)

1 Goethe University Frankfurt
2 Max Planck Institute for Human Development
3 GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne
4 IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit - Institute of Labor Economics

Humans shape the behavior of artificially intelligent algorithms. One mechanism is the training these systems receive through the passive observation of human behavior and the data we constantly generate. In a laboratory experiment with a sequence of dictator games, we let participants' choices train an algorithm. Thereby, they create an externality on future decision making of an intelligent system that affects future participants. We test how information on training artificial intelligence affects the prosociality and selfishness of human behavior. We find that making individuals aware of the consequences of their training on the well-being of future generations changes behavior, but only when individuals bear the risk of being harmed themselves by future algorithmic choices. Only in that case, the externality of artificially intelligence training induces a significantly higher share of egalitarian decisions in the present.

Mots clés: Artificial Intelligence; Morality; Prosociality; Generations; Externalities

Domaines: Economies et finances

Victor Klockmann, Alicia von Schenk, Marie Claire Villeval. Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Intergenerational Responsibility. 2021. ⟨halshs-03237437⟩