Evan Selinger, professor in RIT’s Department of Philosophy, has taken an interest in the ethics (伦理标准) of Al and the policy gaps that need to be filled in. Through a humanities viewpoint, Selinger asks the questions, “How can AI cause harm, and what can governments and companies creating Al programs do to address and manage it?” Answering them, he explained, requires an interdisciplinary approach.

“AI ethics go beyond technical fixes. Philosophers and other humanities experts are uniquely skilled to address the nuanced (微妙的) principles, value conflicts, and power dynamics. These skills aren’t just crucial for addressing current issues. We desperately need them to promote anticipatory (先行的) governance, ” said Selinger.

One example that illustrates how philosophy and humanities experts can help guide these new, rapidly growing technologies is Selinger’s work collaborating with a special AI project. “One of the skills I bring to the table is identifying core ethical issues in emerging technologies that haven’t been built or used by the public. We can take preventative steps to limit risk, including changing how the technology is designed, ”said Selinger.

Taking these preventative steps and regularly reassessing what risks need addressing is part of the ongoing journey in pursuit of creating responsible AI. Selinger explains that there isn’t a step-by-step approach for good governance. “AI ethics have core values and principles, but there’s endless disagreement about interpreting and applying them and creating meaningful accountability mechanisms, ” said Selinger. “Some people are rightly worried that AI can become integrated into ‘ethics washing’-weak checklists, flowery mission statements, and empty rhetoric that covers over abuses of power. Fortunately, I’ve had great conversations about this issue, including with some experts, on why it is important to consider a range of positions. ”

Some of Selinger’s recent research has focused on the back-end issues with developing AI, such as the human impact that comes with testing AI chatbots before they’re released to the public. Other issues focus on policy, such as what to do about the dangers posed by facial recognition and other automated surveillance(监视) approaches.

Selinger is making sure his students are informed about the ongoing industry conversations on AI ethics and responsible AI. “Students are going to be future tech leaders. Now is the time to help them think about what goals their companies should have and the costs of minimizing ethical concerns. Beyond social costs, downplaying ethics can negatively impact corporate culture and hiring, ” said Selinger. “To attract top talent, you need to consider whether your company matches their interests and hopes for the future. ”

Social media, magazines and shop windows bombard(轰炸) people daily with things to buy. Online shopping means it is easy for customers to buy without thinking, while major brands offer such cheap clothes that they can be treated like disposable(—次性的) items. 【小题1】

In Britain, the average person spends more than £1,000 on new clothes a year, which is around four percent of their income. 【小题2】 But it hides two far more worrying trends for society and for the environment. First, a lot of that consumer spending is via credit cards. British people currently owe approximately £670 per adult to credit card companies. 【小题3】 Britain throws away 300,000 tons of clothing a year, most of which goes into landfill sites.

People might not realize they are part of the disposable clothing problem because they donate their unwanted clothes to charities. 【小题4】 Huge quantities end up being thrown away, and a lot of clothes that charities can' t sell are sent abroad, causing even more economic and environmental problems.

【小题5】 The idea came up in Canada in the early 1990s and then moved to the US. ‘Buy Nothing' groups send a clear message to companies that people are no longer willing to accept the environmental and human cost of overcompensation.

When people think of word innovators throughout history, male writers likely come to mind. Shakespeare is credited with inventing more than 1,700 words, including “bedroom”, “courtship” and “swagger”. Charles Dickens is said to have first used the words “butterfingers” and “doormat”, and Dr. Seuss reportedly came up with “nerd”.

But despite contributions from famous writers, historians say another group has an even greater impact on the development of language: teenage girls. Women lead up to 90 percent of linguistic (语言的) changes, as sociolinguist William Labov observed in the early 2000s. In fact, he wrote, women are often linguistically ahead of men “by a full generation”.

Now women are leading the charge online. Though Oxford University Press’2023 word of the year, “rizz”, meaning charm, was coined by a man, several runners-up, including “situationship” and “swiftie” were inspired or first used by women. The term “goblin mode”, which refers to lazy behavior, was Oxford’s 2022 word of the year and appears to have been first used by a woman on Twitter in 2009.

It’s often impossible to tell who first used new words. But whether or not young girls invent new phrases, they are more likely to be early adopters of the latest lingo (术语), says University of Toronto linguist Sali Tagliamonte, “They’re pushing changes forward.”

There are a handful of possible reasons why girls lead lexical (词汇的) innovation. According to Gretchen McCulloch, author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, women tend to be more socially aware. They have larger social circles and may be exposed to more language diversity. And because women tend to be caregivers, boys usually learn language from their mothers, whereas women and girls learn words from other women.