Ethical Considerations for Drone Delivery and AI Development

As AI implementation gains momentum, it is imperative for organizations to turn their focus toward ethics before it is too late.

FREMONT, CA – The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is proliferating across various sectors, revolutionizing their operations, and enhancing revenue generation. The benefits of AI integration are indisputable. However, when it comes to ethics, several issues still haunt the emerging technology. Over the last couple of years, a rising number of unrelated incidents across the country are pointing toward an inherent bias in the AI algorithms.

The three essential requirements when adopting AI is defining bias, implementing policies for developing and installing technologies, and employing chief ethics officers who directly report to the board. In the Deloitte survey, over 32 percent of the executives ranked ethical issues as one of the top three risks of deployments. Often, organizations focus on the revenue returns from their AI systems and entirely neglect the ethics factor.

The ethical disparities are not limited to AI. The utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the transportation of live organs is on the rise. It has enabled healthcare organizations to reduce, time, cost, and outcome of organ transplants by eliminating the need for piloted aircraft for organ delivery.

The gap between the recipients and transplantable organs has steadily increased over the years. Almost 1.5 percent of donor organs expire before they can reach the intended recipients, and this is often attributed to transportation delays. However, UAV technology shows excellent potential in closing the gap and improving accessibility. Research shows that the migration of organ delivery to UAVs could help in saving hundreds of lives.

Although government agencies in the US are easing the restrictions on UAVs, the regulations still ban drones in urban areas. The rural community is excited to welcome drone operations, but it is yet to be seen how they will react to the noise and movement of UAVs over their houses. The drone operators need to be aware of the rights of the firearm wielding citizens to police the skies above their properties. Hence, drone developers and users must keep ethical issues in mind and collaborate with the local communities to ensure compliance.

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