An Ethics of Deconstruction responding to AI generated Bias
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12726/tjp.32.5Keywords:
Algorithm, AI bias, Deconstruction, Logocentrism, UndecidablesAbstract
The paper aims to respond to the ethical concern of biases generated by Artificial Intelligence systems. Even though biases enter an AI network via different channels, its presence in the algorithm can pose serious difficulties. AI systems have an algorithmic way of working where language is ‘formal’ and meaning is ‘fixed’. We employ deconstructive strategies of Jacques Derrida to understand the nature of this problem of AI bias through examination of algorithmic/programming language. Derridean philosophy looks at metaphysics as heavily depended on notions such as logocentrism where logos refers to the privileged part in a dichotomy. Logos is the centre of formal language which works as a system of signs. The main point of deconstruction is to apprise us of this privilege given to ‘presence’ of a concept or meaning over its ‘absence’. Derrida’s notion of Undecidables and Aporia, not only destabilizes rigid dichotomies like speech/writing but also give way to an opening of a concept in its ‘impossible -possibility’. In AI systems, programming/algorithmic language conforming to its algorithm offers definitive answers to problems. This takes us a step ahead in ‘formalization’ of language. Derrida, however offers a response via his ethical deconstruction where the process of ‘completion’ of any concept is deferred and its meaning ‘undecided’.
References
Anderson, N. (2012). Derrida: Ethics under Erasure. Continuum Publishing Group.
Angwin J., Larson J., Mattu, & Kirchner L. (2016, May 23). Machi- ne bias. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/mach- ine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing
Beaney, M. & Raysmith, T. (2024). Analysis. In E.N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 ed.). Stanford University. https://plato.standford.edu/ent ries/ana lysis/s6.html#3
Bermudez, P. (2014). Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Science of Mind. Cambridge University Press.
Butler, C. (2002). Post-Modernism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Bringsjord, S. & Govindarajulu, N S. (2018). Artificial Intelligence. In E.N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ artificial-intelligence/
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2012, May 4). Logical Atomism. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/ topic/Logical-Atomism
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2017, June 20). ideal language. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com /topic/ideal-language
Broussard, M. (2018). Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World. The MIT Press.
Casten, J D. (2012). Cybernetic Revelation: Deconstructing Artificial Intelligence. Post Egoism Media.
Coeckelbergh, M. (2020). AI Ethics. The MIT Press.
Datta A., Tschantz M C. & Datta A. (2015). Automated Experiments on Ad Privacy Settings: A Tale on Opacity, Choice, and Discrimination. Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, 92-112. https://a`rxiv.org/abs/1408.6491
Derrida, J. (1976). Of Grammatology. The John Hopkins.
Derrida, J. (1982). Margins of Philosophy. The Harvester Press.
Derrida, J. (1988). Limited Inc. Northwestern University Press.
Derrida, J. (1993). Aporia. Stanford University Press.
Derrida, J. (2000). Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences. In D. Lodge & N. Wood (Eds.), Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader. (pp. 89-103). Pearson Education Limited. (Original work published 1966).
Derrida, J. (2005). The Politics of Friendship. Verso.
Derrida, J. (2006). Spectres of Marx. Routledge.
Foster, S.R. (2005). Causation in Antidiscrimination Law: Beyond Intent versus Impact. Houston Law Review, 41(5), 1470-1548. https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/188
Glendinning, S. (2011). Derrida: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Gillis, A S. (n.d.). What is natural language processing (NLP)? TechTarget. Retrieved August 2024, from, https://www.techtar- get.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/natural-language-proce
ssing-NLP#:~:text=How%20does%20natural%20language%20p rocessing,way%20a%20computer%20can%20understand
Hauser, L. (n.d.). Artificial Intelligence. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/artificial-intelligence/#SSH4b.ii
Holland, N J. (n.d.). Deconstruction. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/deconstruction/
Kreines, J. (2015). Reason in the World: Hegel’s Metaphysics and Philosophical Appeal. Oxford University Press.
Landauer, T. K., Foltz, P. W. & Laham, D. (1998). An introduction to latent semantic analysis. Discourse Processes, 25(2-3). 259-284. https://doi.org/10.1080/01638539809545028
Manyika, J. & Silberg, J. (2019, June 6). Tackling bias in artificial intelligence (and in humans). McKinsey Global Institute. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/artificial-intelli gence/tackling-bias-in-artificial-intelligence-and-in-humans
Manyika J., Silberg J. & Presten, B. (2019, October 25). What do we do about the biases in AI? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/10/what-do-we-do-about-the-biases-in-ai
Ntoutsi, E., Fafalios, P., Gadiraju, U., Iosifidis, V., Nejdl, W., Vidal, M., Ruggieri, S., Turini, F., Papadopoulos, S., Krasanakis, E., Kompatsiaris, I., Kinder-Kurlanda, K., Wagner, C., Karimi, F., Fernandez, M., Alani, H., Berendt, B., Kruegel, T., … & Staab, S. (2020). Bias in data‐driven artificial intelligence systems—an introductory survey. WIREs Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/widm.1356
Preston, A. (n.d.). Analytic Philosophy. The Internet encyclopedia of philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/analytic-philosophy/#H3
Reynolds, J. (n.d.). Jacques Derrida. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/jacques-derrida/
Reynolds, J. & Roffe, J. (Eds.). (2004). Understanding Derrida. Continuum.
Samuel, S. (2022, April 19). Why it’s so damn hard to make AI fair and unbiased. Vox. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/229- 16602/ai-bias-fairness-tradeoffs-artificial-intelligence
Searle, J. (1980). Minds, brains and programs. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(3), 417-457. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X0000 5756
Searle, J. (1989, February 16). Artificial Intelligence and the Chinese Room: An Exchange. The New York Review. https://www.nybo- oks.com/articles/1989/02/16/artificial-intelligence-and-the-ch -inese-room-an-ex/#:~:text=His%20argument%2C%20called%
sometimes%20the,were%20thrown%20back%20and%20forth
Singh, P. (2023, May 24). Derrida’s Structure, Sign and Play-Summ-ary and Analysis. Literature and Criticism. https://www.literat- ureandcriticism.com/structure-sign-and-play/#:~:text=Derrida 's%20Structure%2C%20Sign%20and%20Play%20refers%20to%20the%20structural%20center,fixed%20origin%20and%20an%20end.
Singh, R.P. (2002). Philosophy: Modern and Postmodern. Om Publications.
Smith-Laing, T. (2017). An Analysis of Jacques Derrida’s Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences. Macat Library.
Stroll, A. & Donnellan, K.S. Analytic Philosophy. In Encyclopedia Britannica, Retrieved September 25, 2023, https://www.britann- ica.com/topic/analytic-philosophy
Wittgenstein, L. (1922). Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. The Edinburgh Press.
Wittgenstein, L. (1958). Philosophical Investigations. Basil Blackwell.
Zou, J & Schiebinger, L. (2018, July 12). Design AI So That it’s fair. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05707-8.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Himanshu Jaysawal , Tanya Yadav
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
