IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v178y2022i4d10.1007_s10551-022-05057-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Implications of Diverse Human Moral Foundations for Assessing the Ethicality of Artificial Intelligence

Author

Listed:
  • Jake B. Telkamp

    (Iowa State University)

  • Marc H. Anderson

    (Iowa State University)

Abstract

Organizations are making massive investments in artificial intelligence (AI), and recent demonstrations and achievements highlight the immense potential for AI to improve organizational and human welfare. Yet realizing the potential of AI necessitates a better understanding of the various ethical issues involved with deciding to use AI, training and maintaining it, and allowing it to make decisions that have moral consequences. People want organizations using AI and the AI systems themselves to behave ethically, but ethical behavior means different things to different people, and many ethical dilemmas require trade-offs such that no course of action is universally considered ethical. How should organizations using AI—and the AI itself—process ethical dilemmas where humans disagree on the morally right course of action? Though a variety of ethical AI frameworks have been suggested, these approaches do not adequately address how people make ethical evaluations of AI systems or how to incorporate the fundamental disagreements people have regarding what is and is not ethical behavior. Drawing on moral foundations theory, we theorize that a person will perceive an organization’s use of AI, its data procedures, and the resulting AI decisions as ethical to the extent that those decisions resonate with the person’s moral foundations. Since people hold diverse moral foundations, this highlights the crucial need to consider individual moral differences at multiple levels of AI. We discuss several unresolved issues and suggest potential approaches (such as moral reframing) for thinking about conflicts in moral judgments concerning AI.

Suggested Citation

  • Jake B. Telkamp & Marc H. Anderson, 2022. "The Implications of Diverse Human Moral Foundations for Assessing the Ethicality of Artificial Intelligence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 961-976, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:178:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05057-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05057-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-022-05057-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-022-05057-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gal Raayoni & Shahar Gottlieb & Yahel Manor & George Pisha & Yoav Harris & Uri Mendlovic & Doron Haviv & Yaron Hadad & Ido Kaminer, 2021. "Generating conjectures on fundamental constants with the Ramanujan Machine," Nature, Nature, vol. 590(7844), pages 67-73, February.
    2. Peter Seele & Claus Dierksmeier & Reto Hofstetter & Mario D. Schultz, 2021. "Mapping the Ethicality of Algorithmic Pricing: A Review of Dynamic and Personalized Pricing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 697-719, May.
    3. Bruno S. Frey & Fabian Homberg & Margit Osterloh, 2013. "Organizational Control Systems and Pay-for-Performance in the Public Service," CREMA Working Paper Series 2013-11, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    4. Joseph Henrich & Steve J. Heine & Ara Norenzayan, 2010. "The Weirdest People in the World?," RatSWD Working Papers 139, German Data Forum (RatSWD).
    5. Edmond Awad & Sohan Dsouza & Richard Kim & Jonathan Schulz & Joseph Henrich & Azim Shariff & Jean-François Bonnefon & Iyad Rahwan, 2018. "The Moral Machine experiment," Nature, Nature, vol. 563(7729), pages 59-64, November.
    6. Ivy Munoko & Helen L. Brown-Liburd & Miklos Vasarhelyi, 2020. "The Ethical Implications of Using Artificial Intelligence in Auditing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 209-234, November.
    7. Kirsten Martin, 2019. "Ethical Implications and Accountability of Algorithms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 835-850, December.
    8. Ulrich Leicht-Deobald & Thorsten Busch & Christoph Schank & Antoinette Weibel & Simon Schafheitle & Isabelle Wildhaber & Gabriel Kasper, 2019. "The Challenges of Algorithm-Based HR Decision-Making for Personal Integrity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 377-392, December.
    9. Wright, Scott A. & Schultz, Ainslie E., 2018. "The rising tide of artificial intelligence and business automation: Developing an ethical framework," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 823-832.
    10. Kaplan, Andreas & Haenlein, Michael, 2020. "Rulers of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 37-50.
    11. Warren Cook & Kristine M. Kuhn, 2021. "Off-Duty Deviance in the Eye of the Beholder: Implications of Moral Foundations Theory in the Age of Social Media," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 605-620, September.
    12. Lee, In & Shin, Yong Jae, 2020. "Machine learning for enterprises: Applications, algorithm selection, and challenges," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 157-170.
    13. Neubert, Mitchell J. & Montañez, George D., 2020. "Virtue as a framework for the design and use of artificial intelligence," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 195-204.
    14. Warren, Danielle E. & Peytcheva, Marietta & Gaspar, Joseph P., 2015. "When Ethical Tones at the Top Conflict: Adapting Priority Rules to Reconcile Conflicting Tones," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(4), pages 559-582, October.
    15. Kirsten Martin & Katie Shilton & Jeffery Smith, 2019. "Business and the Ethical Implications of Technology: Introduction to the Symposium," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 307-317, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chenfeng Yan & Quan Chen & Xinyue Zhou & Xin Dai & Zhilin Yang, 2024. "When the Automated fire Backfires: The Adoption of Algorithm-based HR Decision-making Could Induce Consumer’s Unfavorable Ethicality Inferences of the Company," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(4), pages 841-859, April.
    2. Chen, Xun-Qi & Ma, Chao-Qun & Ren, Yi-Shuai & Lei, Yu-Tian & Huynh, Ngoc Quang Anh & Narayan, Seema, 2023. "Explainable artificial intelligence in finance: A bibliometric review," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    3. Claudy, Marius C. & Parkinson, Mary & Aquino, Karl, 2024. "Why should innovators care about morality? Political ideology, moral foundations, and the acceptance of technological innovations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    4. Michael Haenlein & Ming-Hui Huang & Andreas Kaplan, 2022. "Guest Editorial: Business Ethics in the Era of Artificial Intelligence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 867-869, July.
    5. Serge P. da Motta Veiga & Maria Figueroa-Armijos & Brent B. Clark, 2023. "Seeming Ethical Makes You Attractive: Unraveling How Ethical Perceptions of AI in Hiring Impacts Organizational Innovativeness and Attractiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 199-216, August.
    6. Steffen Böhm & Michal Carrington & Nelarine Cornelius & Boudewijn Bruin & Michelle Greenwood & Louise Hassan & Tanusree Jain & Charlotte Karam & Arno Kourula & Laurence Romani & Suhaib Riaz & Deirdre , 2022. "Ethics at the Centre of Global and Local Challenges: Thoughts on the Future of Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 835-861, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria Figueroa-Armijos & Brent B. Clark & Serge P. da Motta Veiga, 2023. "Ethical Perceptions of AI in Hiring and Organizational Trust: The Role of Performance Expectancy and Social Influence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 179-197, August.
    2. Peter Seele & Mario D. Schultz, 2022. "From Greenwashing to Machinewashing: A Model and Future Directions Derived from Reasoning by Analogy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 1063-1089, July.
    3. Maude Lavanchy & Patrick Reichert & Jayanth Narayanan & Krishna Savani, 2023. "Applicants’ Fairness Perceptions of Algorithm-Driven Hiring Procedures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 125-150, November.
    4. Bonsón, Enrique & Lavorato, Domenica & Lamboglia, Rita & Mancini, Daniela, 2021. "Artificial intelligence activities and ethical approaches in leading listed companies in the European Union," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    5. Zsófia Tóth & Robert Caruana & Thorsten Gruber & Claudia Loebbecke, 2022. "The Dawn of the AI Robots: Towards a New Framework of AI Robot Accountability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 895-916, July.
    6. Florian Pethig & Julia Kroenung, 2023. "Biased Humans, (Un)Biased Algorithms?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 637-652, March.
    7. Niyi Ogunbiyi & Artie Basukoski & Thierry Chaussalet, 2021. "An Exploration of Ethical Decision Making with Intelligence Augmentation," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Stephanie Kelley, 2022. "Employee Perceptions of the Effective Adoption of AI Principles," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 871-893, July.
    9. Alina Köchling & Marius Claus Wehner, 2020. "Discriminated by an algorithm: a systematic review of discrimination and fairness by algorithmic decision-making in the context of HR recruitment and HR development," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 13(3), pages 795-848, November.
    10. Prikshat, Verma & Islam, Mohammad & Patel, Parth & Malik, Ashish & Budhwar, Pawan & Gupta, Suraksha, 2023. "AI-Augmented HRM: Literature review and a proposed multilevel framework for future research," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    11. Chenfeng Yan & Quan Chen & Xinyue Zhou & Xin Dai & Zhilin Yang, 2024. "When the Automated fire Backfires: The Adoption of Algorithm-based HR Decision-making Could Induce Consumer’s Unfavorable Ethicality Inferences of the Company," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(4), pages 841-859, April.
    12. Evgenia I. Lysova & Jennifer Tosti-Kharas & Christopher Michaelson & Luke Fletcher & Catherine Bailey & Peter McGhee, 2023. "Ethics and the Future of Meaningful Work: Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(4), pages 713-723, July.
    13. Scott Claessens & Thanos Kyritsis & Quentin D. Atkinson, 2023. "Cross-national analyses require additional controls to account for the non-independence of nations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    14. Zhang, Chao & Zhu, Weidong & Dai, Jun & Wu, Yong & Chen, Xulong, 2023. "Ethical impact of artificial intelligence in managerial accounting," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    15. Di Vaio, Assunta & Palladino, Rosa & Hassan, Rohail & Escobar, Octavio, 2020. "Artificial intelligence and business models in the sustainable development goals perspective: A systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 283-314.
    16. Kirsten Martin & Ari Waldman, 2023. "Are Algorithmic Decisions Legitimate? The Effect of Process and Outcomes on Perceptions of Legitimacy of AI Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 653-670, March.
    17. Sarah Spiekermann & Hanna Krasnova & Oliver Hinz & Annika Baumann & Alexander Benlian & Henner Gimpel & Irina Heimbach & Antonia Köster & Alexander Maedche & Björn Niehaves & Marten Risius & Manuel Tr, 2022. "Values and Ethics in Information Systems," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(2), pages 247-264, April.
    18. Culot, Giovanna & Orzes, Guido & Sartor, Marco & Nassimbeni, Guido, 2020. "The future of manufacturing: A Delphi-based scenario analysis on Industry 4.0," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    19. Pietronudo, Maria Cristina & Croidieu, Grégoire & Schiavone, Francesco, 2022. "A solution looking for problems? A systematic literature review of the rationalizing influence of artificial intelligence on decision-making in innovation management," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    20. Sarah Bankins & Paul Formosa, 2023. "The Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) For Meaningful Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(4), pages 725-740, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:178:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05057-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.