Description
Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you must pass this unit’s assessments before you submit it. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score.
Touchstone 4: Write a Personal Code of Ethics
OVERVIEW: In this assignment, you will write a personal code of ethics. In the code of ethics, you will state your professional goals and the ethics that guide you. This should be about 1-2 pages and at least 300-400 words..
ASSIGNMENT: Perhaps you’ve heard the quote, “If you don’t know what you stand for, you’ll fall for anything.” Your personal code of ethics is your own statement of what you stand for, establishing a set of principles that guide your decision making and behavior. It serves as a moral compass, helping you navigate challenging situations with integrity and purpose. Including a personal code of ethics in a job application package can demonstrate to potential employers a candidate’s commitment to ethical conduct and values alignment.
This assignment can help you during interviews and throughout your professional career, as you are more likely to make ethical decisions that align with your personal values, and it can help prepare you for interview responses.
It stands as a written document of what you believe in, what you are willing to devote your time and energy to, and what you value. In times of conflict and confusion, it can serve as a Touchstone for you to review, grounding you in your own personal code of ethics.
Your personal code of ethics will include:
A personal ethical statement naming three values.
At least 3-4 sentences of support for each value statement.
At least 3-4 sentences aligning each value with your professional goals.
At least three references to academically appropriate articles with appropriate and correct APA citations and references.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Directions
STEP 1: PREP YOUR PAPER
1. Identify three personal values, reflecting on your beliefs about what is most important in life to you. You want to answer this question to yourself: “What kind of world do I want to live in?” Describing how you want the world to be can lead you to what actions are required to attain it, and what values motivate those actions. Consider what principles guide your decision making and what you prioritize above all else. These will be the main ideas of your paper.
2. Once you have a clear understanding of your values, compose a personal ethical statement. This will become the thesis statement for your paper. For example, if you believe in honesty, integrity, and compassion, you might write, “I value honesty and always strive to speak the truth, act with integrity, and show compassion to others.”
STEP 2: DRAFT YOUR PAPER
1. Write an introduction to your paper that includes the ethical statement you prepared in Step 1. The introduction should engage readers with a compelling hook and communicate the purpose of the statement. For example, if you are seeking a job in finance, you might engage readers with a vision of yourself in five years, working for an investment company that specializes in impact investing.
2. Write 3-4 sentences for each value you described in your ethical statement. Explain why the value is important to you. Be specific and use examples to support your position. You may also use academically appropriate articles to support your positions. (Academically appropriate usually means appearing in a peer-reviewed journal; you may also use non-peer-reviewed articles written by authorities and published in industry standard publications like The Wall Street Journal or The Economist.) For example, if you value honesty, you could cite a study that shows that trust in interpersonal relationships improves worker satisfaction and increases productivity. Use these sources to provide evidence and examples of how your value is important and beneficial. Make sure to properly cite your sources according to the APA citation style, usually with the last name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication in parentheses.
EXAMPLE
Studies show that organizations with lack of trust are less efficient and less profitable (Columbo & Fletcher, 2020).
3. After describing a value, write an additional 3-4 sentences about how your goals align with that value. As above, you may want to use sources for additional information or support. For example, if you value environmental sustainability, you may have a goal to work for a company with eco-friendly practices. You might cite a study that lists the financial companies with the best environmental ratings and name the top three as the ones where you most want to obtain a position.
4. Write a conclusion to your paper that summarizes your main ideas and ends the paper. In this paragraph, you might describe how your goals and values will help build the world you want to live in.
5. Finally, add the references to the articles you cited in the paper. Be sure to use APA format, usually in the format shown below. Make sure any URLs are correct and do not contain any unnecessary code.
EXAMPLE
Columbo, F. & Fletcher, J. (2020, March 5). The perils of dishonesty in business. Levinson Institute of Economics. http://levinsoninst.org/perils-of-dishonesty.html
STEP 3: REVIEW AND REVISE YOUR PAPER
Review your personal code of ethics to make sure it reflects your values and your professional goals, and that each point receives complete support and resources correctly referenced. The way these points are introduced and organized is up to you, but your paper should be at least 300-400 words, including:
An introduction that includes your ethical statement, which names three values that are important to you.
3-4 sentences describing why the first value is important to you.
3-4 sentences describing how your professional goals align with this value.
3-4 sentences describing why the second value is important to you.
3-4 sentences describing how your professional goals align with this value.
3-4 sentences describing why the third value is important to you.
3-4 sentences describing how your professional goals align with this value.
A conclusion recapping your main points.
Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
❒ Did you identify at least three values, each supported by 3-4 sentences of evidence and/or examples?
❒ Did you include an additional 3-4 sentences aligning the value with your professional goals?
❒ Did you include a compelling introduction and a conclusion?
❒ Did you provide at least three correct APA citations to support your work, and references at the end?
❒ Is your Touchstone at least 300-400 words long, and 1–2 pages?
❒ Did you review the rubric to make sure you are meeting all of the goals of the assignment?
❒ Did you review your Touchstone to ensure no grammar errors exist? You may also want to use any grammar check tools you have available.
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Creating an Inclusive Business Culture
by Sophia
WHAT’S COVERED
In this lesson, you will learn about the rewards of inclusion, which do come with challenges.
Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Barriers to Inclusion
While policies and laws that protect people against discrimination are a necessary place to start, they are at
best an ethical minimum, preventing open discrimination or outright bullying. Creating a culture that truly
values all people is a greater ethical goal and a bigger challenge.
Perhaps the biggest challenge to creating an inclusive environment is that everybody bringsunconscious
bias, or implicit attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes about other groups of people. These biases can be based
on a range of characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and social class,
among others. Unlike conscious bias, where people openly admit they make assumptions about others,
unconscious bias influences our thoughts without us being fully aware of them.
EXAMPLE When meeting a new colleague, you may base your small talk on their gender—for
example, asking a man if he caught the game last night, but asking a woman if she has children.
While conscious bias might lead to harassment or bullying, unconscious bias is more likely to reveal itself as
microaggressions (which, you should recall, are subtle or even unintentional reminders of someone’s
marginalized status). Importantly, though, both forms of bias can lead to discrimination in hiring and promoting
employees. It’s impossible to avoid some amount of unconscious bias, because we live in a society that is full
of biased beliefs and messages. Even a person who grows up in a diverse setting and feels enlightened and
inclusive may have unconscious bias against people from other regions of the country.
Few people can identify their unconscious prejudices, and even fewer would be able or willing to identify
times that they have acted on their biases. However, studies have demonstrated again and again that
however much people insist they are not biased, they are. For example, studies have shown that every racial
group is more likely to misidentify the perpetrator of a different racial group after witnessing a crime. Studies
have also shown that women are more likely to have their medical complaints dismissed by doctors, even by
female doctors. However, this isn’t meant to make anyone feel bad. Knowing that you have internalized biases
makes it easier to identify and overcome them.
LEARN MORE
The Project Implicit Study at Harvard University has collected data for years that shows people have
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implicit biases regardless of their stated beliefs. Take a test to determine your own unconscious bias.
implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
One example of implicit bias in business can be seen in the hiring practices of companies. Studies have
shown that individuals from certain racial or ethnic backgrounds may be passed over for job opportunities
even if they have the same qualifications as other candidates. This bias can be influenced by stereotypes that
people hold about certain groups, such as the belief that individuals from certain ethnic groups may not be as
competent or hardworking. Importantly, these selection committees do not decide to discriminate, and may
not even realize they are discriminating. In fact, they may not have any demographic information about the
candidates, but can still make assumptions about gender, race, and ethnicity based on their names. For this
reason, many workplaces now remove names from resumes and replace them with numbers, so the search
committee can avoid bias.
Overall, unconscious bias can have a significant impact on individuals’ words and actions, even when they are
not aware of it. Recognizing and addressing these biases is an essential step towards creating a more just and
equitable society.
As an ethical manager, your role is to model this behavior, first, and to support people as they do the same.
Punitive measures against unconscious biases are not helpful to an inclusive workplace. For example, if a
subordinate says something that can be seen as a microaggression, but does not intend to hurt anyone,
pointing out the error privately is more productive than public criticism.
EXAMPLE A colleague spills coffee at a meeting and declares that she is “such a spaz.” Calling her
out in front of the meeting will create embarrassment, but simply telling her later that “spaz” is an
ableist term will help her choose better words in the future.
You should also be sensitive to differences as you plan events or office space. For example, does your office
need a prayer room? Do you have a private place for nursing parents? Are you planning outings Fridays after
work at a bar, which omits Muslims, Mormons, and people in recovery? The specific needs will vary from office
to office, and your role as manager is to be aware of these needs or talk to staff to make sure they have
everything they need. When staff do come to you, practice good listening skills. However, you do not need to
be perfect. Moreover, it may do more harm than good if you pretend to be an expert at diversity if you are not.
TERMS TO KNOW
Unconscious Bias
Implicit beliefs about other groups of people.
Conscious Bias
Open beliefs about other groups of people.
2. The Benefits of Inclusion
WATCH
How can diversity improve a work team?
The twenty-first century workplace features greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) than was common
even a generation ago. Individuals who might once have faced employment challenges because of religious
beliefs, disabilities, or sexual orientation now regularly join their peers in interview pools and on the job. Each
may bring a new outlook and different information to the table; employees can no longer take for granted that
their coworkers think the same way they do. This pushes them to question their own assumptions, expand
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their understanding, and appreciate alternate viewpoints. The result is more creative ideas, approaches, and
solutions. Thus, DEI may also enhance corporate decision making.
Communicating with those who differ from us may require us to make an extra effort and even change our
viewpoint, but it leads to better collaboration and more favorable outcomes overall, according to David Rock,
director of the Neuro-Leadership Institute in New York City: Diverse coworkers “challenge [our] own and
others’ thinking.” According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), organizational diversity
now includes more than just racial, gender, and religious differences. It also encompasses different thinking
styles and personality types, as well as other factors such as physical and cognitive abilities and sexual
orientation, all of which influence the way people perceive the world: “Finding the right mix of individuals to
work on teams, and creating the conditions in which they can excel, are key business goals for today’s
leaders, given that collaboration has become a paradigm of the twenty-first century workplace.”
Attracting workers who are not all alike is an important first step in the process of achieving greater diversity.
However, managers cannot stop there. Their goals must also encompass inclusion, or the engagement of all
employees in the corporate culture. “The far bigger challenge is how people interact with each other once
they’re on the job,” says Howard J. Ross, founder and chief learning officer at Cook Ross, a consulting firm
specializing in diversity. “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance. Diversity is
about the ingredients, the mix of people and perspectives. Inclusion is about the container—the place that
allows employees to feel they belong, to feel both accepted and different.”
Diversity need not be a financial drag on a company, measured as a cost of compliance with no return on the
investment. A recent McKinsey & Company study concluded that companies that adopt diversity policies do
well financially, realizing what is sometimes called a diversity dividend. The study results demonstrated a
statistically significant relationship of better financial performance from companies with a more diverse
leadership team. Companies in the top 25% in terms of gender diversity were 15% more likely to post financial
returns above their industry median in the United States. Likewise, companies in the top 25% of racial and/or
ethnic diversity were 35% more likely to show returns exceeding their respective industry median (Dixon-Fyle,
et al, 2020).
These results demonstrate a positive correlation between diversity and performance, rebutting any claim that
affirmative action and other such programs are social engineering that constitutes a financial drag on
earnings. In fact, the results reveal a negative correlation between performance and lack of diversity, with
companies in the bottom 25% for gender and ethnicity or race proving to be statistically less likely to achieve
above-average financial returns than the average companies. Nondiverse companies were not leaders in
performance indicators. Positive correlations do not equal causation, of course, and greater gender and ethnic
diversity do not automatically translate into profit. Rather, as this chapter shows, they enhance creativity and
decision making, employee satisfaction, an ethical work environment, and customer goodwill, all of which, in
turn, improve operations and boost performance.
Diversity is not a concept that matters only for the rank-and-file workforce; it makes a difference at all levels of
an organization. The McKinsey & Company study, which examined 20,000 firms in 90 countries, also found
that companies in the top 25% for executive and/or board diversity had returns on equity more than 50%
higher than those companies that ranked in the lowest 25%. Companies with a higher percentage of female
executives tended to be more profitable (Noland, Moran & Kotschwar, 2016).
Achieving equal representation in employment based on demographic data is the ethical thing to do because
it represents the essential American ideal of equal opportunity for all. It is a basic assumption of an egalitarian
society that all have the same chance without being hindered by immutable characteristics. However, there
are also directly relevant business reasons to do it. More diverse companies perform better, as we saw earlier
in this chapter, but why? The reasons are intriguing and complex. Among them are that diversity improves a
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company’s chances of attracting top talent and that considering all points of view may lead to better decision
making. DEI also improves customer experience and employee satisfaction.
To achieve improved results, companies need to expand their definition of diversity beyond race and gender.
For example, differences in age, experience, and country of residence may result in a more refined global
mindset and cultural fluency, which can help companies succeed in international business. A salesperson may
know the language of customers or potential customers from a specific region or country, for example, or a
customer service representative may understand the norms of another culture. Diverse product-development
teams can grasp what a group of customers may want that is not currently being offered.
Resorting to the same approaches repeatedly is not likely to result in breakthrough solutions. DEI efforts,
however, provide usefully divergent perspectives on the business challenges companies face. New ideas help
solve old problems—another way diversity makes a positive contribution to the bottom line.
TERM TO KNOW
Diversity Dividend
The measurable improvement in financial performance from having a diverse leadership team.
3. Resistance to Change
Diversity is not always an instant success; it can sometimes introduce workplace tensions and lead to
significant challenges for a business to address. Some employees simply are slow to come around to a
greater appreciation of the value of diversity because they may never have considered this perspective
before. Others may be prejudiced and consequently attempt to undermine the success of diversity initiatives
in general. In 2017, for example, a senior software engineer’s memo criticizing Google’s diversity initiatives
was leaked, creating significant protests on social media and adverse publicity in national news outlets. The
memo asserted “biological causes” and “men’s higher drive for status” to account for women’s unequal
representation in Google’s technology departments and leadership.
Google’s response was quick. The engineer was fired, and statements were released emphasizing the
company’s commitment to diversity. Although Google was applauded for its quick response, some argued
that an employee should be free to express personal opinions without punishment. Of course, as discussed
previously, public opinions that disparage or discredit the employer are not protected speech and are likely
against the code of conduct.
Later, the fired engineer and a coworker filed a class action lawsuit against Google on behalf of three specific
groups of employees who claim they have been discriminated against by Google: Whites, conservatives, and
men. This is not just the standard “reverse discrimination” lawsuit; it goes to the heart of the culture of diversity
and one of its greatest challenges for management—the backlash against change.
In February 2018, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Google’s termination of the engineer did not
violate federal labor law and that Google had discharged the employee only for inappropriate but unprotected
conduct or speech that demeaned women and had no relationship to any terms of employment. Ultimately the
civil lawsuit was also dismissed (Shankland, 2020).
However, other lawsuits against Google have been filed since by other workers fired for having unpopular
opinions, including three engineers who protested Google’s collaboration with the construction of the border
wall, and a woman who was fired for letting colleagues know their legal rights to unionize.
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Yet other employees are resistant to change in whatever form it takes, particularly those who perceive DEI
initiatives as a loss of power and privilege. As inclusion initiatives and considerations of diversity become more
prominent in employment practices, leaders should be prepared to fully explain the advantages to the
company of greater diversity in the workforce as well as making the appropriate accommodations to support
it.
⚙
THINK ABOUT IT
If diversity includes “different thinking styles” and “different personality types,” as the Society for Human
Resource Managers suggests, does this mean accommodating people who are skeptical about DEI
initiatives or even openly biased against LGBTQ+ colleagues for religious reasons? This is one of the
paradoxes that managers must deal with.
SUMMARY
In this lesson, you learned about the barriers to inclusion that might interfere with the inclusive
environment you want to cultivate. The biggest of these is not outright prejudice but unconscious
bias, the implicit attitudes people have that they often will not admit to or even recognize. However,
the benefits of inclusion in the workplace are worth it, including increased creativity, innovation, and
employee engagement. Despite these benefits, there is often resistance to change, particularly by
those who perceive a loss of privilege and power. Helping people see the benefits of diversity is the
best way to overcome this resistance.
Source: THIS TUTORIAL HAS BEEN ADAPTED FROM OPENSTAX “BUSINESS ETHICS”. ACCESS FOR FREE
AT OPENSTAX.ORG/BOOKS/BUSINESS-ETHICS/PAGES/1-INTRODUCTION. LICENSE: CREATIVE
COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 4.0 INTERNATIONAL.
REFERENCES
Dixon-Foyle, S., et al (2020, May 19). Diversity wins: How inclusion matters. McKinsey & Company.
www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters
Noland, M., Moran, T., & Kotschwar, B. (2016, February). Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global
Survey. Peterson Institute for International Economics. www.piie.com/publications/working-papers/genderdiversity-profitable-evidence-global-survey
Shankland, S. (2020, May 9). James Damore’s diversity lawsuit against Google comes to quiet end. CNET.
www.cnet.com/culture/james-damores-diversity-lawsuit-against-google-comes-to-a-quiet-end/
TERMS TO KNOW
Conscious Bias
Open beliefs about other groups of people.
Diversity Dividend
The measurable improvement in financial performance from having a diverse leadership team.
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Unconscious Bias
Implicit beliefs about other groups of people.
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Robotics and AI
by Sophia
WHAT’S COVERED
In this lesson, you will learn about changes to the workplace and the ethical problems they present to
businesses. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
1. Robotics and Automation in the Workplace
In the 21st Century workers will find their jobs aided or even replaced by automation and artificial intelligence.
While human-controlled machinery is frequently called robotics, the technical definition refers to machines
that work autonomously (without a human operator). Advances in the field of robotics—a combination of
computer science, mechanical and electronics engineering, and science—have meant that machines or
related forms of automation now do the work of humans in a wide variety of settings, such as medicine, where
robots perform surgeries previously done by the surgeon’s hand. Even automatic teller machines and vending
machines may be called “robots,” in that they replace humans in simple transactions.
Robots have made it easier and cheaper for employers to get work done. The downside, however, is that
some reasonably well-paying jobs that provided middle-class employment for humans have become the
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province of machines.
A McKinsey Global Institute study of 800 occupations in nearly 50 countries showed that more than 800
million jobs, or 20% of the global workforce, could be lost to robotics by the year 2030. The effects could be
even more pronounced in wealthy industrialized nations, such as the United States and Germany, where
researchers expect that up to one-third of the workforce will be affected. By 2030, the report estimates that
39 million to 73 million jobs may be eliminated in the United States. Given that the level of employment in the
United States in 2023 is approximately 165 million workers, this potential loss of jobs represents roughly onequarter to one-half of total current employment.
The big question, then, is what will happen to all these displaced workers. The McKinsey report estimates that
about 20 million of them will be able to transfer easily to other industries for employment. But this still leaves
between 20 million and more than 50 million displaced workers who will need new employment.
Occupational retraining is likely to be a path taken by some, but older workers, as well as geographically
immobile workers, are unlikely to opt for such training and may endure job loss for protracted periods.
IN CONTEXT
In 2020, presidential candidate Andrew Yang expressed concerns about the potential impact of
automation and robotics on the job market. Yang believes that the rise of intelligent machines and
automation could lead to widespread unemployment, especially among low-skilled workers, and a
growing wealth gap. He argues that technological advancement is inevitable, but it needs to be
accompanied by policies that ensure that all citizens benefit from it. To address these concerns,
Yang has proposed a Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a way to provide financial security to all
citizens and ensure that they can meet their basic needs even if their jobs are replaced by robots.
Overall, Yang’s concerns about robots highlight the need for careful consideration of the social and
economic implications of technological progress.
In developing countries, the report predicts that the number of jobs requiring less education will shrink.
Furthermore, robotics will have less impact in poorer countries because these nations’ workers are already
paid so little that employers will save less on labor costs by automating. According to the report, for example,
by the same date of 2030, India is expected to lose only about 9% of its jobs to emerging technology.
Which occupations will be most heavily affected? Not surprisingly, the McKinsey report concludes that
machine operators, factory workers, and food workers will be hit hardest, because robots can do their jobs
more precisely and efficiently. “It’s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s
inefficiently making $15 an hour bagging french fries,” said a former McDonald’s CEO in another article about
the consequences of robots in the labor market. He estimated that automation has already cut the number of
people working in a McDonald’s by half since the 1960s and that this trend will continue. Other hard-hit jobs
will include mortgage brokers, paralegals, accountants, some office staff, cashiers, toll booth operators, and
car and truck drivers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that 80,000 fast-food jobs will disappear
by 2024. As growing numbers of retail stores like Walmart, CVS, and McDonald’s provide automated selfcheckout options, it has been estimated that 7.5 million retail jobs are at risk over the course of the next
decade. Furthermore, it has been estimated that as self-driving cars and trucks replace automobile and truck
drivers, 5 million jobs will be lost in the coming decade.
⚙
THINK ABOUT IT
Do employers have the responsibility to help retrain workers, particularly ones with jobs that have
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become obsolete?
Jobs requiring human interaction are typically at low risk for being replaced by automation. These include
nurses and most physicians, lawyers, teachers, and bartenders, as well as social workers (estimated by the
BLS to grow by 19% by 2024), hairstylists and cosmetologists, youth sports coaches, and songwriters.
McKinsey also anticipates that specialized lower-wage jobs like gardening, plumbing, and care work will be
less affected by automation.
The challenge to the economy, then, will be how to address the prospect of substantial job loss; about 20
million to 50 million people will not be able to easily find new jobs. The McKinsey report notes that new
technology, as in the past, will generate new types of jobs. But this is unlikely to help more than a small
fraction of those confronting unemployment. So, the United States will likely face some combination of rapidly
rising unemployment, an urgent need to retrain 20 million or more workers, and recourse to policies whereby
the government serves as an employer of last resort.
IN CONTEXT
Japan has long maintained its position as the world’s top exporter of robots, selling nearly 50% of
the global market share in terms of both units and dollar value. At first, Japan’s robots were found
mainly in factories making automobiles and electronic equipment, performing simple jobs such as
assembling parts. Now Japan is poised to take the lead by putting robots in diverse areas including
aeronautics, medicine, disaster mitigation, and search and rescue, performing jobs that humans
either cannot do or cannot do safely. Leading universities such as the University of Tokyo offer
advanced programs to teach students not only how to create robots but also how to understand the
way robot technology is transforming Japanese society. Universities, research institutions,
corporations, and government entities are collaborating to implement the country’s next generation
of advanced artificial intelligence robot technology, because Japan truly sees the rise of robotics as
the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
In the laboratory at the University of Tokyo School of Engineering, advances are also being made in
technology that mimics the capabilities of the human eye. One application allows scientists a clear
field of vision in extreme weather conditions that are otherwise difficult or impossible for humans to
study.
Japanese researchers are also developing a surgical robotic system with a three-dimensional
endoscope to conduct high-risk surgery in remote mountainous regions with no specialized doctors.
This system is in use in operating rooms in the United States as well, but Japan is taking it a step
further by using it in teletherapy, where the patient is hundreds of miles away from the doctor
actually performing the surgery. In Japan’s manufacturing culture, robots are viewed not as threats
but as solutions to many of the nation’s most critical problems. Indeed, with Japan’s belowreplacement fertility since the mid-1970s, Japan’s workforce has been aging quite rapidly; in fact, the
Japanese population is shrinking. Clearly, robots are potentially quite important as a means to offset
prospective adverse consequences of a diminishing labor force.
⚙
THINK ABOUT IT
How might the use of robots add to the increasing inequality in the U.S. economy?
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TERM TO KNOW
Robotics
The technology of machines that can work autonomously (without a human operator) to replicate the
tasks of humans.
2. Artificial Intelligence
The branch of science that uses computer algorithms to replicate human intelligent behavior by machines with
minimal human intervention is called artificial intelligence (AI). Although AI software is sometimes called
“bots,” these are usually accessed by humans using computers, and only respond to human prompts, rather
than carrying out tasks autonomously. Professions in which the implementation of AI might have particular
impact are banking, financial advising, and the sales of securities and managing of stock portfolios. Technical
support and technical writing are other professions at risk, as advanced AI language models can write
expository text with some competence. Even news articles have begun to be written by AI text generators.
TRY IT
One paragraph in this tutorial was written by Chat GTP, an AI language model.
Can you spot the AI-written paragraph?
+
The In Context paragraph about Andrew Yang and robotics was written by an AI and is presented
here without any editorial changes. Do you see any difference in mechanics or style from the
paragraphs written by humans?
According to global consulting firm Accenture, AI is “a collection of advanced technologies that allows
machines to sense, comprehend, act and learn.” Accenture contends that AI will be the next great advance in
the workplace: “It is set to transform business in ways we have not seen since the Industrial Revolution,
fundamentally reinventing how businesses run, compete, and thrive. When implemented holistically, these
technologies help improve productivity and lower costs, unlocking more creative jobs and creating new
growth opportunities.” Accenture looked at 12 of the world’s most developed countries, which account for
more than half of world economic output, to assess the impact of AI in 16 specific industries. According to its
report, AI has the potential to significantly increase corporate profitability, double rates of economic growth by
2035, increase labor productivity by as much as 40%, and boost gross value added by $14 trillion by 2035,
based on an almost 40% increase in rates of return. But the Accenture report reflects the opportunities for
business leaders and shareholders, without much consideration for any other stakeholders. Will AI increase
profits at the expense of millions of office workers?
TERM TO KNOW
Artificial intelligence (AI)
The branch of computer science that replicates human intelligence with minimal human interaction.
3. Ethical Challenges of Automation and AI
A report by KPMG, another global consulting and accounting firm, indicates that almost 50% of the activities
people perform in the workplace today could be automated, most often by using AI and automation
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technology that already exists. The ethical question facing the business community, and all of us on a broader
level, is about the type of society in which we all want to live and the role automation will play in it. The answer
is not simply about efficiency; a company should consider many variables as it moves toward increased
automation: What are the company’s core values? What will relationships be like with human stakeholders?
How will the transition be implemented, and what will happen to workers displaced by AI or automation?
For example, as AI programs become better able to interact with humans, especially online, should a company
be required to inform its customers if and when they are dealing with any form of AI and not a person? This
issue is further muddied when a human employee largely is tapping AI to serve customers or clients. Should
this combination of human and AI assistance be made clear? If a company retains its staff of technical writers,
are they allowed to use AI tools to help generate content they used to write from scratch? While educators
are likely to frown on the use of AI by students, what about using AI to detect AI-generated content, or even to
grade papers? If teachers are allowed to use AI to write and grade lessons, is it fair that students cannot use
the same technology?
As AI evolves, and becomes more and more “human,” these questions will become thornier. Although
traditional business ethics can provide us with a starting place to answer such questions, we will also need a
philosophical approach because we are venturing into uncharted territory.
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THINK ABOUT IT
The Turing Test, or Imitation Game, is a test of a machine’s ability to replicate human behavior based on a
human’s ability to distinguish between human and machine interactions. If people cannot tell when they
are communicating with an AI program and not a human being, has the AI reached a form of personhood?
Another issue in AI and all forms of automation is liability, or legal responsibility for their actions. What used to
seem like the realm of science fiction is now a pertinent question: What happens if a robot harms someone?
According to Reuters News, “lawmakers in Europe have agreed on the need for [European]-wide legislation
that would regulate robots and their use, including an ethical framework for their development and
deployment, as well as the establishment of liability for the actions of robots, including self-driving cars.”
There are also ethical concerns regarding AI’s use of prior text and images that inform their models. A
language model AI writer is fed a number of texts and is largely regurgitating those texts when it provides a
response. AI art generators work in a similar fashion. This means that the answer it generates may include
copied or slightly altered work belonging to a human creator. For companies using AI to write instruction
manuals or other content, they have to be careful about inadvertently violating copyright laws.
EXAMPLE Bestselling author Christopher Paolini’s 2023 book Fractal Noise had cover art
generated by AI, closely based on prior covers designed by human artists. What credit or
compensation do those original artists deserve for the new cover?
Yet another issue is privacy, as AI can generate realistic images of people doing things they never did, such
as nude (even pornographic) images of celebrities, which can be used to embarrass or blackmail them. AI
imagery could even be used to fake evidence of a crime (or, for that matter, to fake an alibi). The legal and
ethical questions in assigning liability for decisions made by robots and AI are not only fascinating to debate
but also an important legal matter society must resolve now so the development and availability of technology
is done with ethics in mind. The answers wil
