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BC faculty discuss AI and the responsible exercise of power
Three Boston College faculty members were among 70 international
stakeholders participating in the fourth annual Business Ethics Summit at Vatican City’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The June convening was designed to address the question of how to exercise power responsibly in a world transformed by technology.
Titled “The Humility of Power: Ignorance, Error, and Responsibility in High-Impact Technology,” the event, for which Boston College was the exclusive academic partner, was focused on the role of ethics amid the increasing impact of artificial intelligence on economic and social processes.
Wihout the separation of good from evil, "corporate policies collapse into mere self-interest," Fr. Larrey told the gathering in his opening remarks. (Giacomo Foti)
Summit co-founder Fr. Philip Larrey, a professor of the practice in BC's Department of Philosophy whose research areas include the impact of the digital era on society, delivered the day’s opening lecture, titled “Socrates, Ignorance and the Humility of Power.”
“The bedrock of all business ethics rests upon a fundamental, timeless distinction: The separation of good from evil,” Fr. Larrey said. “Without this primary criteria, corporate policies collapse into mere self-interest, leaving organizations directionless when confronting complex moral challenges. Corporate decisions are not made in a vacuum. Using tools of ethical discernment, we can evaluate the motives, actions, and long-term consequences of today’s executive choices, laying down a highly accountable pathway for tomorrow’s business leaders.”
In Socratic style, the convening’s format was structured around critical questions.
Brian K. Smith: “If we're wise, we'll move beyond the focus on how to ‘stop kids from cheating’ to deeper considerations." (Giacomo Foti)
Brian K. Smith, the Honorable David S. Nelson Professor and associate dean for Research at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, was one of the experts selected to address the first session’s thought-provoking question: What becomes uniquely human when intelligence becomes abundant, and more specifically, how does it relate to the demographic who will succeed us?
“Young people are seriously concerned about AI’s impact on work and jobs — particularly job loss — and their backlash was very apparent during U.S. university commencements this spring when speakers were booed for their AI rhetoric,” he said. “We're at an interesting moment where we need to hear and consider diverse viewpoints on technology adoption. We need to include the next generation in conversations about their future; we don't necessarily use technology in the same ways they do, so we need to get their perspectives, and importantly, we need to be humble about what we can learn from those in less powerful positions.”
Smith noted that the best thing about ChatGPT and similar "intelligent" machines is that people are having more conversations about what it means to educate the next generation.
“If we're wise, we'll move beyond the focus on how to ‘stop kids from cheating’ to deeper considerations about pedagogy, assessment and professional development,” he said. “More significantly, AI tools can help us think more deeply about the purpose of education and what we want the next generation to become.”
Aleksandar Tomic: “The question of the 20th century was 'what happens when machines want our jobs?'; Now it's 'what happens when the jobs have no humans left to do them?'" (Giacomo Foti)
Economist Aleksandar (Sasha) Tomic, associate dean for strategic initiatives and external affairs at the Woods College of Advancing Studies and senior director of its graduate programs in applied economics and applied analytics, was among select speakers exploring the question: What are we too certain about?
“Let me name the certainty I have come to distrust,” Tomic said. “For 40 years, the settled fear about robotics and automation has been that machines are coming for our work. That alarm rests on an assumption so deep we rarely say it aloud: That there will always be enough people to do the work. That supposition has already failed.
“Last year, Italy recorded just 355,000 births—the fewest since Italian unification in 1861—a fertility rate of 1.14 children per woman, and 12 funerals for every seven baptisms. The Italian National Institute of Statistics projects Italy could lose nearly one tenth of its population by mid-century.
“Italy is not the exception; it is the preview,” said Tomic, who holds courtesy appointments as professor of the practice in both BC's Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and Carroll School of Management. “The question of the 20th century was 'what happens when machines want our jobs?'; Now it's 'what happens when the jobs have no humans left to do them?' My answer to this session's question is that we are not too certain that artificial intelligence is moving too fast; we are, however, too certain about where the danger lies.”
The was co-founded by Cristiana Falcone-Sorell, a global strategic advisor, board director, and philanthropist, was initiated by Rome-based corporate communications firm Corelations.