General information:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be understood as machines and computers that imitate human intelligence. What is intelligence?
Most authors define intelligence with these three traits:
Some examples of AI are self-driving cars, face recognition and voice interaction systems such as Siri and Alexa.
Pro – argument | Contra – argument |
Machines can be used for hard physical work and in areas that are potentially dangerous (mines, fields that may contain bombs, etc.) | The use of AI machines in the production of goods can result in the unemployment of some people. |
Intelligent machines are able to solve smaller problems themselves, which reduces production costs. | |
Many social media platforms employ AI to generate algorithms. These algorithms analyse users in order to expose them to targeted advertisements and similar posts to those they already seem to like. This could help people find content and products quicker. | Many social media platforms employ AI to generate algorithms. These algorithms analyse users in order to expose them to targeted advertisements and similar posts to those they already seem to like. This could lead users to only engage with content that reinforces the same thoughts without any criticism. |
AI machines can be used in places that are hard to reach for humans in order to gain data, for instance, in the ocean or in space. | |
AI could be used in the training of pilots, doctors and captains where the AI simulates different scenarios which the trainees have to solve. | |
AI in cars (self-driving cars) can minimise the number of traffic accidents, as human error is excluded. Also, traffic jams can be reduced by a more effective driving style. Furthermore, humans can use the commute to do other tasks. | In the case of self-driving cars, it is possible that vague commands result in dangerous situations if the driver is sharing the road with non-AI cars. |
Ethical implications:
Companies should protect the data of their customers. By analysing the data of a user, it is possible to make assumptions about them. Algorithms and targeted advertisements can be especially of interest for companies. However, the users should have the right to decide whether they want their information to be shared with companies. Therefore, platforms should always get the consent from users before sharing any sort of data. Moreover, users often save their passwords and data online. If their credit card information or bank account password was stolen, people could suffer financially. It is the responsibility of companies and platforms that require information from their users to keep them safe. Sometimes, companies themselves use algorithms, especially in social media, to recommend certain posts.
People always see posts with similar content and start to live in a social bubble, in which they only interact with people with similar beliefs. By always being confronted with similar posts, the user starts to believe that these opinions are very popular, which can be risky if it concerns political views. The implementation of self-driving cars opens several ethical questions. During an accident, a human driver normally reacts instinctively. The consequences of the accidents are also evaluated on this basis. However, during an accident with a self-driving car, the AI system in the car might evaluate the situation and place more importance on the lives of the people in the car rather than the total amount of people that could get hurt. In this situation, it is no longer a spontaneous reaction but instead a decision. This creates a moral dilemma over whom to save. Moreover, the programming protocols involved in self driving cars need to be widely discussed and decided upon by qualified authorities.
Es ist möglich, dass ein Abiturvorschlag die technologische Entwicklung oder ein Teil dieser als Voraussetzung hat. Dies könnte vor allem bei Transfer- und Diskussionsfragen der Fall sein. Folglich kann es hilfreich sein, wenn Vorwissen zu bestimmten Technologien besteht, da man so diese geschichtlich einordnen und somit einen gesellschaftlichen Bezug herstellen kann (Industrialisierung). Von besonderer Wichtigkeit können dann die ethischen Implikationen sein, die auf Basis der Vor- und Nachteile einer Technologie diskutiert werden können. Wobei hier auch ein Bezug zu moral/ethical dilemma hergestellt werden kann. Themenfelder, die bereits in den Abiturprüfungen vorkamen:
Weiterhin kann dieser Teil auch für die Kommunikationsprüfung relevant sein.