A reflection on the evolution of thought and the current discussion on AI concerns.

“technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke

ChatGPT is the center of so much controversy today and brings excitement and concern. Some people see a world of possibilities, while others see a world of dangers. I see both worlds happening simultaneously, but more importantly, I think this dilemma has a deeper meaning that reflects a potential issue in the way science and knowledge have been approached for a long time. Curiously, people are now concerned about the ethics, transparency, interpretability, morals, conscience and values of these new machines and the people using them. However, it seems paradoxical that these characteristics correspond to the metaphysics that was rejected when we adopted the “enlightenment” agenda a few centuries ago, in which Descartes was one of the essential proponents and some of his ideas behind the current mindset of today’s positivist scientific inquiry.

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Data Science Ethics: What is the foundational standard?

To address the question of ethics in any arena, including Data Science, first, we need to question ourselves what is the standard used to define what is “good” and “bad.” The importance of knowing such a standard is fundamental since choosing the wrong standard can generate false definitions for what is “good” and “bad” with a variety of consequences in society and, in this case, in the practice and use of Data Science. Hence, the standard must be absolute because if it changes, then the meaning of “good” and “bad” is lost, and we fall into a moral relativism situation. 

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