Artificial intelligence and decision problems: The need for an ethical context

Abstract

<p>Computers process information and make decisions. Until recently, the decisions they made were not complex, but due to the incessant technological advances that are taking place, systems based on artificial intelligence are achieving levels of competence in decision-making that in many contexts equal or surpass those of humans. These are autonomous decision-making systems that, although they can increase the capacity and efficiency of people in their fields of action, they could also replace them, something that is of concern to society as a whole. Avoiding dysfunctions in these systems is a priority social, scientific and technological objective, which requires theoretical models that include all the richness and variety of decision problems, that precisely define the elements that characterize them and that address the ethical principles that should guide their operation. This article describes each of these aspects in separate sections.</p>