Responsible AI: A Global Ethical Guide
Responsible AI: A Global Ethical Guide
Montréal Declaration
Responsible AI_
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MONTRÉAL
DECLARATION
FOR A RESPONSIBLE
DEVELOPMENT
OF ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
2018
3
This document is part of the 2018
MONTRÉAL DECLARATION FOR
TABLE OF
A RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT
OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
CONTENTS
You can find the complete report HERE.
PRINCIPLES
1. WELL-BEING PRINCIPLE 8
2. RESPECT FOR AUTONOMY PRINCIPLE 9
3. PROTECTION OF PRIVACY AND INTIMACY 10
4. SOLIDARITY PRINCIPLE 11
5. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION PRINCIPLE 12
6. EQUITY PRINCIPLE 13
7. DIVERSITY INCLUSION PRINCIPLE 14
8. CAUTION PRINCIPLE 15
9. RESPONSIBILITY PRINCIPLE 16
10. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLE 17
GLOSSARY 18
CREDITS I
PARTNERS II
4
READING THE
DECLARATION
technological revolution; > Although they reflect the moral and political
culture of the society in which they were
3. Open a national and developed, they provide the basis for an
international forum for intercultural and international dialogue.
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A DECLARATION FOR WHOM? A DECLARATION ACCORDING
The Montréal Declaration is addressed to any
TO WHAT METHOD?
person, organization and company that wishes The Declaration was born from an inclusive
to take part in the responsible development of deliberation process that initiates a dialogue
artificial intelligence, whether it’s to contribute between citizens, experts, public officials, industry
scientifically or technologically, to develop social stakeholders, civil organizations and professional
projects, to elaborate rules (regulations, codes) associations. The advantages of this approach
that apply to it, to be able to contest bad or unwise are threefold:
approaches, or to be able to alert public opinion
when necessary. 1. Collectively mediate AI’s social
and ethical controversies;
It is also addressed to political representatives,
whether elected or named, whose citizens 2. Improve the quality of reflection
expect them to take stock of developing social on responsible AI;
changes, quickly establish a framework allowing
3. Strengthen the legitimacy of the
a digital transition that serves the greater good,
proposals for responsible AI.
and anticipate the serious risks presented
by AI development.
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PREAMBLE
For the first time in human history, it is possible to of numbers and ruling it through algorithmic
create autonomous systems capable of performing procedures is an old pipe dream that still drives
complex tasks of which natural intelligence alone human ambitions. But when it comes to human
was thought capable: processing large quantities affairs, tomorrow rarely resembles today, and
of information, calculating and predicting, learning numbers cannot determine what has moral value,
and adapting responses to changing situations, nor what is socially desirable.
and recognizing and classifying objects. Given the
The principles of the current declaration are like
immaterial nature of these tasks, and by analogy
points on a moral compass that will help guide the
with human intelligence, we designate these wide-
development of artificial intelligence toward morally
ranging systems under the general name of artificial
and socially desirable ends. They also offer an ethical
intelligence. Artificial intelligence constitutes a
framework that promotes internationally recognized
major form of scientific and technological progress,
human rights in the fields affected by the rollout of
which can generate considerable social benefits
artificial intelligence. Taken as a whole, the principles
by improving living conditions and health, facilitating
articulated lay the foundation for cultivating social
justice, creating wealth, bolstering public safety,
trust toward artificially intelligent systems.
and mitigating the impact of human activities on the
environment and the climate. Intelligent machines The principles of the current declaration rest on the
are not limited to performing better calculations than common belief that human beings seek to grow as
human beings; they can also interact with sentient social beings endowed with sensations, thoughts
beings, keep them company and take care of them. and feelings, and strive to fulfill their potential
by freely exercising their emotional, moral and
However, the development of artificial intelligence
intellectual capacities. It is incumbent on the various
does pose major ethical challenges and social risks.
public and private stakeholders and policymakers at
Indeed, intelligent machines can restrict the choices
the local, national and international level to ensure
of individuals and groups, lower living standards,
that the development and deployment of artificial
disrupt the organization of labor and the job market,
intelligence are compatible with the protection
influence politics, clash with fundamental rights,
of fundamental human capacities and goals, and
exacerbate social and economic inequalities, and
contribute toward their fuller realization. With this
affect ecosystems, the climate and the environment.
goal in mind, one must interpret the proposed
Although scientific progress, and living in a society,
principles in a coherent manner, while taking into
always carry a risk, it is up to the citizens to determine
account the specific social, cultural, political and
the moral and political ends that give meaning to the
legal contexts of their application.
risks encountered in an uncertain world.
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1 WELL-BEING
PRINCIPLE
The development 1. AIS must help individuals improve their living conditions,
their health, and their working conditions.
and use of artificial
intelligence
2. AIS must allow individuals to pursue their preferences,
systems (AIS) must so long as they do not cause harm to other sentient beings.
permit the growth
of the well-being 3. AIS must allow people to exercise their mental and physical
of all sentient capacities.
beings.
4. AIS must not become a source of ill-being, unless it allows
us to achieve a superior well-being than what one could
attain otherwise.
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2 RESPECT FOR
AUTONOMY PRINCIPLE
AIS must be 1. AIS must allow individuals to fulfill their own moral
objectives and their conception of a life worth living.
developed and
used while
2. AIS must not be developed or used to impose a particular
respecting lifestyle on individuals, whether directly or indirectly,
people’s by implementing oppressive surveillance and evaluation
autonomy, and or incentive mechanisms.
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3 PROTECTION OF
PRIVACY AND INTIMACY
PRINCIPLE
Privacy and 1. Personal spaces in which people are not subjected to
surveillance or digital evaluation must be protected from
intimacy must be
the intrusion of AIS and data acquisition and archiving
protected from AIS systems (DAAS).
intrusion and data
2. The intimacy of thoughts and emotions must be strictly
acquisition and protected from AIS and DAAS uses capable of causing harm,
archiving systems especially uses that impose moral judgments on people
(DAAS). or their lifestyle choices.
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4 SOLIDARITY
PRINCIPLE
The development 1. AIS must not threaten the preservation of fulfilling moral and
emotional human relationships, and should be developed with
of AIS must be
the goal of fostering these relationships and reducing people’s
compatible with vulnerability and isolation.
maintaining the
bonds of solidarity 2. AIS must be developed with the goal of collaborating with
among people and humans on complex tasks and should foster collaborative
work between humans.
generations.
3. AIS should not be implemented to replace people in duties that
require quality human relationships, but should be developed
to facilitate these relationships.
4. Health care systems that use AIS must take into consideration
the importance of a patient’s relationships with family
and health care staff.
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5 DEMOCRATIC
PARTICIPATION
PRINCIPLE
AIS must meet 1. AIS processes that make decisions affecting a person’s life, quality
of life, or reputation must be intelligible to their creators.
intelligibility,
justifiability, and 2. The decisions made by AIS affecting a person’s life, quality of life,
accessibility or reputation should always be justifiable in a language that is
understood by the people who use them or who are subjected
criteria, and must to the consequences of their use. Justification consists in making
be subjected transparent the most important factors and parameters shaping
to democratic the decision, and should take the same form as the justification
we would demand of a human making the same kind of decision.
scrutiny, debate,
and control. 3. The code for algorithms, whether public or private, must always
be accessible to the relevant public authorities and stakeholders
for verification and control purposes.
6. For public AIS that has a significant impact on the life of citizens,
citizens should have the opportunity and skills to deliberate on
the social parameters of these AIS, their objectives, and the limits
of their use.
7. We must at all times be able to verify that AIS are doing what
they were programed for and what they are used for.
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6 EQUITY
PRINCIPLE
The development 1. AIS must be designed and trained so as not to create, reinforce,
or reproduce discrimination based on — among other things —
and use of AIS
social, sexual, ethnic, cultural, or religious differences.
must contribute to
the creation of a 2. AIS development must help eliminate relationships of
just and equitable domination between groups and people based on differences
society. of power, wealth, or knowledge.
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7 DIVERSITY INCLUSION
PRINCIPLE
The development 1. AIS development and use must not lead to the
homogenization of society through the standardization
and use of
of behavior and opinions.
AIS must be
compatible with 2. From the moment algorithms are conceived, AIS development
maintaining social and deployment must take into consideration the multitude
and cultural of expressions of social and cultural diversity present in the
society.
diversity and must
not restrict the 3. AI development environments, whether in research or industry,
scope of lifestyle must be inclusive and reflect the diversity of the individuals
choices or personal and groups of the society.
experiences.
4. AIS must avoid using acquired data to lock individuals into
a user profile, fix their personal identity, or confine them
to a filtering bubble, which would restrict and confine their
possibilities for personal development — especially in fields
such as education, justice, or business.
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8 PRUDENCE
PRINCIPLE
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9 RESPONSIBILITY
PRINCIPLE
The development 1. Only human beings can be held responsible for decisions
stemming from recommendations made by AIS, and the actions
and use of
that proceed therefrom.
AIS must not
contribute to 2. In all areas where a decision that affects a person’s life,
lessening the quality of life, or reputation must be made, where time and
responsibility of circumstance permit, the final decision must be taken by a
human being and that decision should be free and informed.
human beings
when decisions 3. The decision to kill must always be made by human beings,
must be made. and responsibility for this decision must not be transferred
to an AIS.
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10 SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
PRINCIPLE
The development 1. AIS hardware, its digital infrastructure and the relevant objects
on which it relies such as data centers, must aim for the
and use of AIS
greatest energy efficiency and to mitigate greenhouse gas
must be carried emissions over its entire life cycle.
out so as to
ensure a strong 2. AIS hardware, its digital infrastructure and the relevant objects
environmental on which it relies, must aim to generate the least amount
of electric and electronic waste and to provide for
sustainability of maintenance, repair, and recycling procedures according
the planet. to the principles of circular economy.
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GLOSSARY
Digital Commons
Digital commons are the applications or data
Artificial intelligence (AI) produced by a community. Unlike material goods,
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the series of
they are easily shareable and do not deteriorate
techniques which allow a machine to simulate human
when used. Therefore, unlike proprietary software,
learning, namely to learn, predict, make decisions
open source software—which is often the result of a
and perceive its surroundings. In the case of a
collaboration between programmers—are considered
computing system, artificial intelligence is applied
digital commons since their source code is open and
to digital data.
accessible to all.
Digital Literacy
Chatbot An individual’s digital literacy refers to their
A chatbot is an AI system that can converse with
ability to access, manage, understand, integrate,
its user in a natural language.
communicate, evaluate and create information
safely and appropriately through digital tools and
networked technologies to participate in economic
and social life.
Data Acquisition and Archiving
System (DAAS)
DAAS refers to any computing system that can collect
and record data. This data is eventually used to train Filter Bubble
AI systems or as decision-making parameters. The filter bubble (or filtering bubble) expression
refers to the “filtered” information which reaches
an individual on the Internet. Various services
such as social networks or search engines offer
Decision Justifiability personalized results for their users. This can have
An AIS’s decision is justified when there exist the effect of isolating individuals (inside “bubbles”)
non-trivial reasons that motivate this decision, since they no longer have access to common
and that these reasons can be communicated information.
in natural language.
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GAN Open Data
Acronym for Generative Adversarial Network. In Open data is digital data that users can access freely.
a GAN, two antagonist networks are placed in For example, this is the case for most published AI
competition to generate an image. They can for research results.
example be used to create an image, a recording or a
video that appears practically real to a human being.
Path Dependency
Social mechanism through which technological,
Intelligibility organizational or institutional decisions, once
An AIS is intelligible when a human being with the deemed rational but now subpar, still continue to
necessary knowledge can understand its operations, influence decision-making. A mechanism maintained
meaning its mathematical model and the processes because of cognitive bias or because change would
that determine it. require too much money or effort. Such is the case
for urban road infrastructure when it leads to traffic
Machine Learning optimization programs, rather than considering
Machine learning is the branch of artificial a change to organize transportation with very low
intelligence that consists of programing carbon emissions. This mechanism must be known
an algorithm so that it can learn by itself. when using AI for special projects, as training data
in supervised learning can sometimes reinforce old
The various techniques can be classified into three organizational paradigms that are now contested.
major types of machine learning:
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Strong Environmental Sustainability
The notion of strong environmental sustainability
goes back to the idea that in order to be sustainable,
the rate of natural resource consumption and
polluting emissions must be compatible with
planetary environmental limits, the rate of resources
and ecosystem renewal, and climate stability.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development refers to the development
of human society that is compatible with the capacity
of natural systems to offer the necessary resources
and services to this society. It is economic and social
development that fulfills current needs without
compromising the existence of future generations.
Training
Training is the machine learning process through
which AIS build a model from data. The performance
of AIS depends on the quality of the model, which
itself depends on the quantity and quality of data
used during training.
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Martin Gibert, Ethics Counsellor at IVADO and
CREDITS researcher in Centre de recherche en éthique (CRÉ)
Yoshua Bengio, Full Professor of the Department Marie Martel, Professor in École de
of Computer Science and Operations Research, bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information,
UdeM, Scientific Director of MILA and IVADO Université de Montréal
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