What we mean by ethical AI | Monterey Bay AI Journal

"Ethical AI" can sound like a conference panel. For us it is a short list of habits. We teach them in every workshop.

1. A human decides

AI can draft, sort and suggest. A person makes the call on anything that matters. Prices, diagnoses, grades, hiring, money. If something goes wrong, a person owns it, not the tool.

2. Protect people's data

Do not paste other people's private information into AI tools. Customer lists, health details, student records, ID numbers. If it would hurt someone if it leaked, leave it out. Our acceptable-use template has the full list.

3. Be honest about it

If AI is talking to your customers, say so. If AI wrote most of something, do not pass it off as hand-made. People can handle the truth. They do not like being fooled.

4. Check the work

AI is confident and sometimes wrong. Names, numbers, dates and quotes need a second look. Build the check into the workflow instead of hoping someone remembers.

5. Keep the tools small

Use the simplest tool that does the job. Know what it does with your files. More tools means more places for things to leak and more things to learn.

Where this shows up

These rules are the backbone of our acceptable-use template and the things we look at for the Ethical AI Stamp of Approval. They are also just good manners.

Monterey Bay AI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit teaching ethical, practical AI around Monterey Bay and online. Questions? info@montereybay.ai