Towards Ethical Engineering: Artificial Intelligence as an Ethical Governance Tool for Emerging Technologies ^†

As a governance framework for emerging technologies, the responsible research and innovation (RRI) approach faces some fundamental conflicts, particularly between “inclusivity” and “agility”. When we try to apply RRI principles to the development of AI, we also encounter similar difficulties. Therefore, it may be helpful to change the approach by not only seeing AI as the object of ethical governance but also as an effective tool for it. This involves mainly three levels: first, using AI directly to solve general ethical problems; second, using AI to solve the ethical problems brought about by AI; and third, using AI to upgrade the RRI framework. By doing something at these three levels, we can promote the fusion of AI and technology ethics and move towards ethical engineering, thus pushing ethical governance to new heights. In traditional ethical governance approaches, ethics is external, brought in by external actors, and the focus is on actors. However, in this new approach, ethics must be internalized in technology, with the focus not only on actors, but also on technology itself. Its essence lies in the invention and creation of technologically ethical governance tools.