The Ethical Landscape of Data and Artificial Intelligence: Citizen Perspectives

Globally, there is growing acknowledgement that those involved in the development and deployment of AI products and services should act responsibly and conduct their work within robust ethical frameworks. Many of the ethical guidelines now published highlight a requirement for citizens to have greater voice and involvement in this process and to hold actors to account regarding compliance and the impacts of their AI innovations. For citizens to participate in co-creation activities they need to be representative of the diverse communities of society and have an appropriate level of understanding of basic AI concepts. This paper presents the preliminary results of a longitudinal survey designed to capture citizen perspectives of the ethical landscape of data and AI. Forty participants were asked to participate in a survey and results were analyzed based on gender, age range and educational attainment. Results have shown that participant perception of AI, trust, bias and fairness is different but related to specific AI applications, and the context in which is applied. Citizens also are also very receptive to undertaking free courses/workshops on a wide range of AI concepts, ranging from family workshops to work-based training.