Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer merely a science fiction motif - it is quickly becoming an everyday reality. As AI systems continue to reshape the contours of innovative possibility, integration of AI (generative AI in particular) into corporate strategies and decision-making is imperative for companies striving to stay competitive in a complex global landscape.
Generative AI will revolutionize business, enhance products and operational efficiencies, and unlock new business models for growth. As we navigate the AI [r]evolution, there is a need to balance AI’s promises of transformation and the moral responsibility associated with its potent applications.
While this mandate is vital to humanity as a collective, for corporations this responsibility is more immediate. Business leaders are uniquely positioned to shape the ethical framework and company culture within which AI operates, influencing the responsible design, development, and deployment of these complex systems in a manner that aligns with societal values and norms. Senior business leaders can accomplish this by ensuring that their organizations prioritize AI systems that adhere to prudent principles and develop and maintain an appropriately robust governance framework for AI.
These practices would, at a minimum, help companies comply with legal obligations: for example, satisfying a corporate board’s oversight responsibilities under the 1996 Caremark standard as enunciated by the Delaware Chancery Court. Further, by ensuring companies do not run afoul of legal rules on discrimination against protected classes.
But business leaders can, and should, do more than what is legally required as reflected in positive law. They should uphold fundamental human rights, recognizing a duty to natural law. Further, there is a compelling, commercially consistent rationale for a comprehensive and ethically aligned approach to AI.
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With the foregoing in mind, the Business AI Ethics team at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics (ELCSE) is researching the questions of AI ethics as it pertains to strategies and associated actions by corporate boards and C-suite executives. This work is driven by the recognition of AI’s transformative power in the business context and the distinctive position of business leaders in the effort to shape AI for good.
Some of the questions we are addressing include corporate board oversight responsibility for AI initiatives in the context of Caremark and its progeny, evaluation of the heightened Caremark standard for certain mission- critical business functions, applied AI ethical actions aligned to stakeholder capitalism theory, influencers on senior business leader decision-making – including by institutional investors, and new frameworks aligned to business incentives to adopt ethical AI practices.
In exploring these and many other questions of business AI ethics, the team aims to supply much-needed practical framing for AI issues as they pertain to the corporate board and C-suite. Our hope is that this research empowers senior business decision-makers to navigate the ethical complexities of AI and provide guardrails for navigating AI governance at the highest levels.
This ELSCE Business AI Ethics research effort interfaces with the Governance of Emerging Technology and Tech Innovations for Next-Gen Governance through Plurality (GETTING-Plurality) Research Network, housed in the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation; and in collaboration with Harvard Business School.
We aim to publish weekly blog entries addressing a myriad of business AI ethics topics, typically on Fridays. If you have an interest in our work, please reach out – we welcome your input and collaboration!
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Jeffrey Saviano: Business AI Ethics Initiative Leader; Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
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Jonathan Hack: Director of Content & Strategy; Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
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Vincent Okonkwo: Research Assistant; LL.M Candidate, Harvard Law School
- Shuying (Christina) Huo: Research Assistant; Harvard University visiting undergraduate
The Business AI Ethics research team is part of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center’s ongoing effort to promote the application of ethics in practice. Their research assists business leaders in examining the promise and challenges of AI technologies through an ethical lens. Views expressed in these posts are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by ELSCE.