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Transcriber: Si Gut
Reviewer: Robert Tucker
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I want to start with a question:
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What do these three things have in common:
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a robotic arm, a neural network,
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a large dataset?
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The answer I'm looking for,
it's not technology,
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it's not artificial intelligence,
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it's not even tools.
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The answer I'm looking for is humanity.
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Let's take a closer look.
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Robotic arms.
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These are machines programmed
to function like a human arm.
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The robot has a wrist, an elbow,
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a shoulder, just like a human would,
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only the robot is metal and gears,
instead of muscle and bone.
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It picks things up, it puts things down.
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We pick things up, we put things down.
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Robotics are a reflection
of our human body,
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and how it interacts
with the world around us.
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Neural networks.
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These are computing systems
conceptually derived from the human brain.
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These neural networks
are comprised of artificial neurons,
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also known as nodes,
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and each node has an input
that produces an output
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that can be sent to other nodes.
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This all functions
like a biological neuron.
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Neural networks are a reflection
of how our human minds interact
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with information in the world around us.
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Datasets.
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Datasets are a collection
of information points
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on human habits and activities,
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everything from how often in a year
you actually floss,
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to how your eyes move across the screen,
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to how fast your heart beats
when you're looking at someone you love.
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Datasets are a collection and a reflection
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of how our human behavior
forms patterns in the world around us.
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So you see,
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our technology is not
some grand, mysterious thing
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outside of our comprehension and control.
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Our technology, at its most basic level,
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is a reflection of our humanity.
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Which leads me to my next question:
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What does it mean to be human?
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So far, we've covered our mind,
our body, our behaviors.
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But is this all there
really is to being human?
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What about our emotions,
those messy feelings,
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our dreams and aspirations,
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our ability to believe in something
and to have the strength to stand for it?
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What about love
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and our need to cherish
the connections with those around us?
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To be human means to have values,
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and to build our life on these values.
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We, as humans, are
innately moral creatures.
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And if our technology is supposed
to be a reflection of our humanity,
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then why does our technology today
miss this crucial element of our humanity?
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Well, it's all because
somewhere along the way,
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we forgot about
one of the most powerful tools
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we have as humans
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in creating and building
a life and technology of values.
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This tool is ethics.
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Allow me to explain
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by first looking at how we use ethics
in our daily lives as humans.
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I want you all to take a moment
and ask yourselves:
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What is a good life?
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What would it mean to live this life?
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What would that even look like?
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Now, I can guarantee you
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that there are hundreds
of different good lives
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being pictured in this room
at this very moment.
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But the beautiful thing is
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that even though we may all have
a different conception
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of what it means to live that good life,
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all of our good lives
share a common thread.
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Details aside,
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what you're picturing right now
is a fulfilling life of purpose.
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Although there may be
elements of la dolce vita,
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a good life, at the end of the day,
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is one [where] you can
sit on your deathbed
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with a sense of peace,
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knowing that you found fulfillment,
that you fulfilled your purpose.
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Where do we find this purpose, though?
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In this life,
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our purpose is found
in the values that define us.
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Whether these values be love of family,
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freedom to speak and be heard,
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resilience in the face
of seemingly unmovable mountains,
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our values come
in so many shapes and sizes.
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But at the end of the day,
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what makes a value
is the conviction to say:
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"Here I stand, and you won't move me."
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Now, how do we live this life?
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In theory, sounds beautiful,
but I'm sure we can all agree
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it's not as straightforward
as we would hope.
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It's easy to get lost in the day-to-day.
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It's easy to forget
that we're here to fulfill a purpose.
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It's easy to forget that the good life
is always within reach,
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it's just a few good decisions away.
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This is exactly where ethics
comes into the equation.
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You see, at its root,
ethics is a reflexive tool
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that we are constantly using
in our daily lives.
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Sometimes it's consciously,
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as you sit and decide whether or not
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to bail your friend
out of a financial crisis,
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if you'll join that protest
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against that law that you disagree with,
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if you'll join that organization
for that cause that sits at your core.
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And sometimes ethics is unconscious,
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that gut instinct that causes
you to act in a split second,
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to throw yourself in front of a car
to save that child,
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to offer the homeless man on the corner
your jacket on a cold night.
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What you're doing,
at either end of these extremes,
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and everything in between,
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is using ethics as a tool
in the pursuit of your good life.
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If a good life is a life in which
your actions reflect your values,
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then the opposite of this life
is a life in which you have no values,
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or, even worse,
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actively go against these values.
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You see, ethics is the tool we use
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to reflect and determine if our actions
are in alignment with our values.
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Think of it this way:
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Your purpose is like
an end destination on a map.
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Your values are the directions you need
to follow to reach that destination.
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And ethics, that's the compass.
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That's the compass that allows you,
enables you, to follow those directions
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to reach your final destination.
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Remember how I said a good life
is always within reach,
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just takes a few good decisions?
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What I mean by this is:
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If we use ethics to guide our decisions
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in a way that aligns
our actions with our values,
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that's fulfillment,
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that's purpose,
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that's practicing ethics.
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Now, what in the world
does this have to do with technology?
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Probably sitting here going,
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"I like values, I like a good life,
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but weren't we supposed
to talk about tech?"
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Well, you see, our technology
is a reflection of our humanity.
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And now that we understand
how to use ethics on the human level,
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we can start to look at how to use ethic
on the technological level.
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And I'm going to start
with the same question.
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What is good technology?
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What does it mean for tech to be good?
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What would this even look like?
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Is it a social media network
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designed to capitalize on
our insecurities,
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and thrive off of content
full of hate and anger?
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Is it a health app
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that tracks every single one
of our movements,
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whether we know it or not,
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only to take that information
and sell it to insurance companies?
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Is it a credit scoring algorithm
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that takes the zip code you were born in
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to determine how likely you'll be
to default on a bank loan?
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Is it an HR hiring software
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that, despite your best efforts,
can tell your gender,
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based off of the adjectives you use
to describe yourself,
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and whether or not you'll be
a good fit for that role?
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Is it a recommendation system,
designed to pursue profit
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at the very cost
of dignity of the individual?
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Is this good tech?
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Because this is the technology
that we have today.
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This is not some tech
that we're building in the future;
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this is technology
that we have built and are using.
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Is this good tech?
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Is this really what we wanted?
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No, of course not.
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We, as humans,
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are so much more than micropayments
and privacy invasions,
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and social scoring, and bottom lines,
and filter bubbles, and structural bias.
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We are more,
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and we deserve technology that is more.
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You see, good tech,
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it's not technology that takes
advantage of our human nature;
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it's technology that helps us
embrace the nature of being human.
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And we, as humans,
are innately moral creatures.
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We have values,
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and we find fulfillment in life,
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we find our purpose in these values,
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which means our technology
needs to be able
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to support and enable
and empower us to live
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in alignment with these values.
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That is good tech.
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And it's only a few good decisions away.
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What we've forgotten about
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in our development
of our technology today,
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what's kept us
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from the pursuit of good tech
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We forgot about our most powerful tool.
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We forgot to pause
and critically ask ourselves
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if what we're building
is helping or hindering us.
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We forgot to reflect on our habits,
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and how we engage and use
technology in our daily lives.
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We forgot to align
the purpose of our systems
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with the values we hold as humans.
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Somehow, somewhere along the way,
we forgot all about ethics.
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Now, I want you all
to take a moment and ask yourself:
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What would this world look like
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if we actually used ethics
in the design and development
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What would it mean to align
our tech to our values?
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What would this world look like?
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It would look like a world
full of genuine human connection,
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where our technology
brought us closer together,
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instead of driving us further apart.
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It would look like a world
in which we all had the freedom
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to chase our full potential, no matter
the circumstances we were born into,
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in which technology opened up
new avenues for success,
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instead of leaving
our fate up to an algorithm.
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It would look like a world
in which we could rely on each other,
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in which technology
fostered open communication,
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instead of overbearing surveillance.
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It would look like a world
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in which business thrived off of
building trustworthy technology,
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instead of tech
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that subtly manipulates users,
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and promotes this false dichotomy
of profit versus principle.
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It would look like a world
full of people pursuing their good lives.
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So how do we do this?
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How do we create this world?
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We bring ethics back into the equation
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to use as a tool
in the pursuit of good tech,
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like the compass that guides us
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along the directions
to reach our end destination,
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we use ethics to guide
our design and development decisions
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to align them with our values
to reach that end goal of good technology.
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To be human means to be
an innately moral creature.
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We have value.
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We live by these values.
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To be human means to have
a mind, a body, behaviors,
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and to have values.
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Our technology is
a reflection of our humanity,
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and it's about time that that reflection
captures all of what it means to be human.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
