Texts & Media
Some thoughts I develop on stage, others at my desk, still others at the microphone. Here you’ll find a selection of my articles, interviews, and podcast appearances – to dive deeper, read more, keep listening.
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Article
Audio/Video
Interview
Keeping AI Weird (for Safety Reasons)
AI makes mistakes differently from humans. And that’s a good thing. This post explores why we shouldn’t train machines to fail like humans and why weirdness might be an important safety feature of AI.
AI: Lessons from Business Ethics
When it comes to business ethics, AI companies ignore the most basic concepts linked to accountability, supply chain responsibility and product safety. Yes, AI companies create groundbreaking innovation. But that comes with the responsibility to ensure that what they do serves humanity, not the other way around.
Business Ethics and AI: A Wake-Up Call
The most powerful AI applications stem primarily from private corporations driven by profit. This means that questions of AI ethics must always be linked to business ethics, and its core elements like corporate responsibility, accountability along the value chain and towards stakeholders, and safe and responsible products.
The Data Revolution devours their Children
AI automates many things. And it is considered neutral. Will we finally achieve equal opportunities thanks to it? It’s not that simple: without human intervention, AI becomes a continuation of discrimination by other means. What’s more, LLMs are running out of food after years of data theft. They are increasingly feeding them with their own…
AI, Creativity and Art
In the context of art and creativity, AI touches on two fundamental dimensions of ethics: the question of the meaningfulness of life and the question of justice. Talking about democratisation in this context produces one thing above all: a lot of hot air.
AI in publishing: Bridging gaps, upholding values
AI in publishing was the topic of a debate, organized by Wiley. How should publishers respond to advances of Big Tech? How can AI make research more accessible? And do we really need to reinvent the wheel when talking about accountability in the age of AI?
AI and Gender Equality: Get involved!
AI is predominantly developed by men. It is also used more extensively by men. And in key datasets, men are overrepresented. This won’t do: it’s time for women to step in! That was my call to action at the Business Day for Women in Vaduz.
Podcasts – My Thoughts on Air
Hosts from all over the world invite me to share my thoughts on ethics, artificial intelligence, data protection, sustainability or my personal career. Podcasts are a great opportunity to present my views and convictions in a structured and understandable manner. Every single one of these conversations has been an eye-opener for myself as well.
AI and Democracy – a Complicated Relationship
Johannes Castner asked me about my opinion on the intersection between AI and democracy. In a nutshell, I’d say: “Keep the two apart from each other.”
Big Tech and AI Ethicists — a Duty to Engage?
If we have a choice: do we want to have Big Tech at the table when discussing regulation, or do we want them to lobby behind closed doors? I argue for the latter. We have a duty to engage.
Cryptocurrencies and ESG? Mission impossible
Cryptocurrencies are booming; many of them are based on extremely energy-intensive mining processes. At the same time, we are under pressure to drastically reduce global emissions consumption, keyword ESG. These two trends are not compatible.
The Swiss Approach to AI ethics: Getting up early, Waking up late
More than 900 years after the heroic figure Robin Hood set out to steal from the rich and give to the poor, two American entrepreneurs borrowed his name to establish a fintech company that claims to “democratize finance for all”. But the new Robinhood’s claim of ‘democracy’ is on shaky ground. Just as the company…
AI: Lessons from Business Ethics
When it comes to business ethics, AI companies ignore the most basic concepts linked to accountability, supply chain responsibility and product safety. Yes, AI companies create groundbreaking innovation. But that comes with the responsibility to ensure that what they do serves humanity, not the other way around.
Business Ethics and AI: A Wake-Up Call
The most powerful AI applications stem primarily from private corporations driven by profit. This means that questions of AI ethics must always be linked to business ethics, and its core elements like corporate responsibility, accountability along the value chain and towards stakeholders, and safe and responsible products.
The Data Revolution devours their Children
AI automates many things. And it is considered neutral. Will we finally achieve equal opportunities thanks to it? It’s not that simple: without human intervention, AI becomes a continuation of discrimination by other means. What’s more, LLMs are running out of food after years of data theft. They are increasingly feeding them with their own…
AI, Creativity and Art
In the context of art and creativity, AI touches on two fundamental dimensions of ethics: the question of the meaningfulness of life and the question of justice. Talking about democratisation in this context produces one thing above all: a lot of hot air.
AI and Gender Equality: Get involved!
AI is predominantly developed by men. It is also used more extensively by men. And in key datasets, men are overrepresented. This won’t do: it’s time for women to step in! That was my call to action at the Business Day for Women in Vaduz.
Cryptocurrencies and ESG? Mission impossible
Cryptocurrencies are booming; many of them are based on extremely energy-intensive mining processes. At the same time, we are under pressure to drastically reduce global emissions consumption, keyword ESG. These two trends are not compatible.
The Swiss Approach to AI ethics: Getting up early, Waking up late
More than 900 years after the heroic figure Robin Hood set out to steal from the rich and give to the poor, two American entrepreneurs borrowed his name to establish a fintech company that claims to “democratize finance for all”. But the new Robinhood’s claim of ‘democracy’ is on shaky ground. Just as the company…
Rainwater Harvesting in Bangladesh
In 2017 I visited various NGO projects in Bangladesh and India in my role at the time as a board member of the Buchi Foundation. Upon return to Switzerland I wrote a piece on one of the projects together with Md Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal, who was field coordinator of HELVETAS at the time. The
Getting to the Root of Food Waste in Bananas
The food waste of bananas created by consumers is only the tip of the iceberg. Even more waste is created at the farm level, where up to 40% of bananas are put to waste. The high percentage of waste at farm level puts an additional strain on the cost/income ratio of farmers.
Robinhood: Democratized Finance on Shaky Ground
More than 900 years after the heroic figure Robin Hood set out to steal from the rich and give to the poor, two American entrepreneurs borrowed his name to establish a fintech company that claims to “democratize finance for all”. But the new Robinhood’s claim of ‘democracy’ is on shaky ground. Just as the company…
Privacy Conundrums in early 2021 — on Violators and Accomplices
How is it possible that an app that simultaneously breaches privacy principles and that, for the time being, undermines ideals of inclusiveness, is so successful? And why do even people who are usually strong advocates of the very values Clubhouse violates, hop on this latest trend?
No, we don’t want to ‘democratize’ AI
The talk about democratizing AI is a clever marketing move. Democracy is an inherently positive term. By suggesting that AI is in everyone’s interest, it is not far off from framing AI as a basic need. But let’s not be fooled: AI is not a basic need. It is a tool, that is, a means…
Ethics in the Tech Industry: What makes it so Distinctive?
Kate O’Neill is a global thought leader, author, keynote speaker, strategic advisor, and “tech humanist”. We talked about connecting the dots between AI ethics, privacy, climate change, CSR, ESG, contact tracing, carbon offsetting and much more, including quite some laughter.
Business is there to Make Life Better. But How?
As part of his series “Interviews with global leaders in the field of Artificial Intelligence” I spoke with Johan Steyn about AI ethics, privacy, contact tracing, buiness ethics, CSR, etc. – live from my kitchen table.
Ethical Debates sparked by COVID: Thoughts at the UNESCO Forum
UNESCO Forum invited me as a speaker to share my thoughts on the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic has sparked fundamental ethical debates. Think of the terrifying reports from hospitals in Italy in Spring 2020. Intensive care units were overrun with patients. There were not enough ventilators. And suddenly we asked ourselves: What is the value…
On Teaching Artificial Intelligence & Ethics
The Montreal AI Ethics Institute interviewed me, along with my ForHumanity colleagues Merve Hickok and Ryan Carrier, about our thoughts on teaching AI and ethics. I recommend keeping AI ethics as applied as possible and inspiring people to think about what that means for their own work experience.
Ethics is not just about Right or Wrong but mostly about Why
“People often feel uncomfortable talking about ethics. My mission is to enter a company, a classroom, a stage, and take away that unease”, I say in my interview with influencer marketing platform Onalytica.
There is no Responsible Tech without Accountability
There is a divide between those working on Responsible Tech inside companies and those criticizing from the outside. We need to bridge the two worlds, which requires more open-mindedness and the willingness to overcome potential prejudices. The back and forth between ‘ethics washing’ and ‘ethics bashing’ is taking up too much space.
AI and Sustainability: a Solution or Part of the Problem?
Environmental sustainability is one of the most promising domains to deploy ‘AI for Good’. The environment is an excellent use case for collecting and analyzing data that help us to better understand and address key environmental challenges. In contrast to the use of AI in ‘human settings’, you typically don’t run into problems of privacy…