As If Human: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence

by Nigel Shadbolt, Roger Hampson

Overview

A new approach to the challenges surrounding artificial intelligence that argues for assessing AI actions as if they came from a human being
 
“Elegant and erudite.”—John Thornhill, Financial Times
 
Intelligent machines present us every day with urgent ethical challenges. Is the facial recognition software used by an agency fair? When algorithms determine questions of justice, finance, health, and defense, are the decisions proportionate, equitable, transparent, and accountable? How do we harness this extraordinary technology to empower rather than oppress?
 
Despite increasingly sophisticated programming, artificial intelligences share none of our essential human characteristics—sentience, physical sensation, emotional responsiveness, versatile general intelligence. However, Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson argue, if we assess AI decisions, products, and calls for action as if they came from a human being, we can avert a disastrous and amoral future. The authors go beyond the headlines about rampant robots to apply established moral principles in shaping our AI future. Their new framework constitutes a how-to for building a more ethical machine intelligence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300283372
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Nigel Shadbolt is principal of Jesus College, Oxford, and professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. He lives in Lymington, UK. Roger Hampson is an academic and public servant and former chief executive of the London Borough of Redbridge. He lives in London, UK.

Editorial Reviews

[An] elegant and erudite book. [Shadbolt and Hampson’s] contention is that we should always treat machines as if humans were attached and hold them to the same, if not higher, standards of accountability.”—John Thornhill, Financial Times

“Shadbolt and Hampson write with dry wit, and there are some fascinating debates about the ethics of AI, from whether it matters how we treat sex robots to how a machine might embody fairness or respect.”—Tom Knowles, The Telegraph

“Well worth a read. . . . Very accessible.”—Enlightened Economist

2024 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

“AI is the defining technology of our age—the ethical questions it raises are among the most important we face. As If Human gives us a clear set of principles to navigate this new world.”—Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO, and cofounder, Blackstone

“Compelling and inspiring, As If Human takes the debate on AI ethics to a new level—well beyond the visceral moralizing and homespun philosophizing that fetter the current conversation.”—Richard Susskind, OBE KC (Hon), author of Online Courts and the Future of Justice

“In this lucid, accessible, and compelling book, Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson invite us to consider how we wish to live with AI in the twenty-first century. Their creative recommendation is that we treat AI as if it were human—that we ensure it is both transparent and accountable to humans and protective of human rights. In a field rife with hand-wringing, they provide grounds for optimism.”—Dame Louise Richardson, president, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and former vice-chancellor, University of Oxford

“A searching and accessible guide to artificial intelligence with a useful idea: treat machines like human beings and demand they treat us that way too.”—Michael Ignatieff, Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI

“This is a very accessible and well-reasoned consideration of the ethics of AI, offering a framework that can address future developments in AI alongside its current dynamics.”—Stephen C. Slota, School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin

From the Publisher