The ‘Art’ of Generative AI and the Ethical Matrix
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/bd408a27Keywords:
artificial intelligence, intelligence, art, ethics, stakeholdersAbstract
A question around generative artificial intelligence remains whether its results are in fact indistinguishable from a human being’s. This paper argues from the starting point that the answer to that question is negative. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that indiscriminate and unregulated use of GenAI is having significant effects on several stakeholder groups. The main argument will emphasize one of them: the artists and their artistic products.
This paper will perform an ethical analysis as the foundation for potential and adequate regulation centered around the wellbeing of artists and their products. With this in mind, the method of the ethical matrix (Mepham, 2013; O’Neil y Gunn, 2020) will be put to use to show, in table format, the effects of an action on all the different relevant stakeholders from the point of view of three ethical criteria —each representing a different ethical tradition—: (1) wellbeing (utilitarianism), (2) autonomy (deontology) and (3) fairness (contractualism) (Mepham, 2013). The resulting matrix will illuminate, from an ethical standpoint, the role of GenAI on the wellbeing, autonomy and fairness of artists, as well as the other stakeholders affected by the ‘art’ produced by such models.
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