Course:ELEC300E/CaseStudies/AGoodWayAI

Case: Designing AI in "A Good Way"

Designing AI in A Good Way
Image:wiki.png
Content / Topics
Axiological Design
AI
Sustainable Computing
Indigenous AI
Relevant Analysis Strategies or Tools
Decision Impact Assessment
Iceberg Model

A guide by Suzanne Kite, "How to Build Anything Ethically" (Chapter 4.4), explains the Lakota decision making process, of designing things in "A Good Way".

This perspective on decision making centers sustainability, thinking not just to the end of the product lifecycle, but seven generations into the future. Kite draws parallels between designing an AI system, a physical computing device, and a Lakota sweat lodge.

She includes a set of questions for guidance:

QUESTIONS TO ASK AT EACH STEP WITHIN THE PROTOCOL STREAM

Consultation: Who are the Elders and Knowledge Keepers for this protocol?

Identify Stakeholders: Which community members, human and non-human, all those past,

present, and future are affected?

Identify Raw Material: What is needed to create this process?

Compensation: How are the stakeholders or owners of the raw materials being compensated and how does that compensation affect them?

Construction: What are the methods necessary to do this protocol in an ethical way?

Preparing Internal Components: How do the parts of this process need to be prepared?

Running the Program: How can the protocol be enacted in an ethical way?

Transforming: What is transformed during this process?

Welcoming: How can this protocol be completed in a way that provides transparency to those affected?

Managing the Life Cycle: How can the ongoing use of the result of this protocol be done in an ethical way?

Preparing for the Death Cycle: How can the end of this protocol be completed in an ethical way?

The guide applies those questions to the development of a physical computing device (or datacenter) to run AI applications.

Ethically building devices to run or accelerate AI applications is only one part of developing ethical AI systems though; Kite presents AI system design as the confluence of eight protocol streams: data collection, governance, coding language, software design, use, distribution, compensation method, physical computing device and data collection.

Recommended Readings and Resources

• ~7 minute read, Suzanne Kite, "How to Build Anything Ethically" in Indigenous Protocol and Artificial Intelligence
  • https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/986506/7/Indigenous_Protocol_and_AI_2020.pdf, Chapter 4.4

Discussion Questions

Here are a few questions to help you begin analyzing the issues discussed in this case study. The purpose of these questions is to prompt reflection and further consideration: there are no right or wrong answers!

• Positive action: Choose one protocol stream listed (other than physical computing device). How you would approach the decision making process in "A Good Way"?
• Personal response: Take stock of your immediate response to this case study: outrage, discomfort, boredom, confusion, frustration, hope, interest? How might your unique personal experiences and perspectives inform this response? How can you leverage this response in a positive way?
• Contradictory viewpoints and outcomes: Contrast approaching design and decision making in "A Good Way" to other approaches to technical decision making (from this class, from industry experience, from other classes)? What are the similarities or differences?
• Social and Historical Context: Consider the social context of this case study (Indigenous people are currently underrepresented in engineering; the Canadian Residential School System attempted to erase Indigenous languages and cultural practices etc.) How do you think this context influences technical design?
• Interruptions and invitations: In what way does engineering in "A Good Way" invite us to either welcome diverse stakeholder perspectives and viewpoints into the design process, or interrupt hegemonic practices?
• Physical connections: Consider the teachings, values and cultural traditions of your own culture. Alternatively, consider the teachings, values and cultural traditions, as you understand them, of the Indigenous nations whose lands are you currently situated on (eg. the Musqueam Nation). How might those teachings and cultural traditions apply to technological decision making?
• Positive Practices: What is one concrete action that you could take, or a practice that you could adopt in your personal, academic or professional life to address some of the issues, or put into practice one of the approaches discussed in this case study?