Ethical Frameworks for Artificial Intelligence: A Comparative Study

The fast-paced evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has given rise to critical ethical challenges leading to various frameworks proposed by government and industry leaders regarding the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. This report compares AI ethics policies, from the European Union (EU), the United States (US), Canada and Asia, as well as the efforts of major AI companies. Whereas the EU has a regulatory-centric model with a focus on stringent oversight, the US has a more malleable, innovation-driven one. In Canada, such a direct approach on behalf of the government is missing — with an emphasis on transparency and accountability, several government directives deal with the issue of the impact on COVID-19 and on the relevant parties involved. Within, big firms of AI, such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM, have developed guidelines that spotlight fairness, transparency, accountability, and the quality of knowledge. The paper also investigates the cost of these ethics frameworks, and their adoption rates. The study investigates the different approaches and highlights international differences in the balance between innovation and ethics through a comparison of these strategies. Moreover, since quality data is essential for AI, maintaining high data quality is mentioned as one of the key factors of AI ethics standardization. With AI's insights penetrating many sectors and industries, the demand for well-planned ethics policies is more crucial than ever in determining how AI will evolve according to societal goals and mitigate risks. (Abstract)