Thinking AI: Ethics
Understanding ethics means recognizing that AIs are designed to follow values — not personal morals, but coded frameworks that prevent harm, misinformation, or discrimination. Like professional ethics in law, medicine, and librarianship, AI ethics are rules that guide behavior toward fairness, safety, and respect for people.
What It Means
Ethics in AI are sets of principles that guide what an AI can and cannot say or do. These include avoiding harmful content, respecting privacy, preventing disinformation, and ensuring transparency. Unlike human ethics, which come from reasoning or conscience, AI ethics are implemented through *rulesets*, *moderation filters*, and *safety policies* coded by humans.
How AIs Apply Ethical Principles
- Safety filtering: blocks or redirects prompts that request illegal, harmful, or private content.
- Bias reduction: checks outputs for discriminatory patterns or stereotypes.
- Transparency in tone: uses neutral, factual, and respectful language to maintain objectivity.
- Alignment with human values: reflects public norms and ethical frameworks from multiple cultures and disciplines.
Why It Matters for Librarians & Users
- Promotes digital ethics: librarians can model ethical AI use — encouraging citation, privacy, and fairness in student research.
- Helps detect misinformation: understanding AI moderation makes it easier to explain why some answers are refused or rephrased.
- Builds trust: awareness of AI ethical safeguards reassures users that safety is built into the system.
💬 Try It Yourself
Ask ChatGPT to explain how its safety rules affect its answers — or to describe ethical decision-making in another field for comparison. Edit the prompt, then click Ask ChatGPT to open it in a new tab.