the Terminator in presenting AI to the public, the Terminator will always be there. The challenge, Mr. Havens suggested, is to get beyond the fear and to really look at what developments like AI mean for individuals and for our society. Now, more than ever, this is important as we are at a really important time. Technology is already beginning to change us he explained, and although the Singularity may still be far away, we have already started to cross a threshold — to merge with the very technology we are developing. In light of this, Mr. Havens expressed the importance of ethics in AI, adding that it is not something we can afford to have only as an afterthought. Thorough examinations and assessments should be done before a technology is released to make sure it is ethically aligned with end users, and methodologies applied to provide robust due diligence to identify and prioritize human values. The problem, he clarified, is this: How will machines know what we value if we do not know ourselves? He observed, that as part of his H(app)athon Project, an initiative to create digital tools to drive global contentment, a survey was conducted to get a sense of how people view their wellbeing in the digital age. Psychologists have determined that while values may differ amongst people, there are twelve values that people in different cultures all prioritize. These values can help identify what general ethical principles we can honour to build into emerging technologies. While it is not an easy challenge, it is something the IEEE’s work in creating their paper, Ethically Aligned Design and new Standards Working Groups, will help. At the same time, Mr. Havens stressed that we should not lose sight of the importance of data privacy as this digital boom continues. Data is a valuable commodity. This will increasingly become apparent with the rise of augmented and virtual reality, where users will be looking through the lenses of private companies for every part of their waking life. In his conclusions, Mr. Havens noted that regardless of how the media represents AI, technology is neither good nor evil. Nevertheless, he warned that it is certainly not inert. He observed that the World Health Organization estimates that by 2030 depression is expected to be the largest contributor to disease burden. Noting that unemployment is a major contributor to depression, he urged that we must recognise the reality that, while autonomous cars will save lives on our roads, their impact will be profound on our individual and collective psyche. Not only will the trucker profession become obsolete almost overnight, the entire community surrounding the profession will also feel the impact, as, for instance, the importance of gas stations, roadside diners and everyone supporting the industry diminishes. In this regard, Mr. Havens stressed that when we develop AI, we need to think it in terms of what helps us increase human well-being versus only prioritizing GDP and exponential growth, which is the status quo of today.
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