GenAI Ethics #1: A Leadership Guide to Generative AI Ethics Project: Join Me on This Journey

Generative AI is transforming the world, raising new opportunities and unprecedented ethical questions. As a doctoral student focusing on Generative AI (GenAI) ethics for the past two years and having worked in AI for the past ten years, a faculty member at a prestigious mission-centered university in California who designed and taught a cutting-edge course on GenAI ethics in healthcare and education, and a serial entrepreneur with experience with AI-first startups in Silicon Valley, I sincerely appreciate the rapid evolution of GenAI and the urgency for humanity to build ethical frameworks to safely and effectively harness it for the good of humans. As leaders, we all have the responsibility and opportunity to shape the use of this technology to maximize its benefits and mitigate its downsides.

This article is the first of what I see as a continuous exploration – a joint journey to share insights, foster discussions, and empower leaders with the frameworks they need to navigate the complex ethical landscape of GenAI. I want this series to be a space to critically interrogate, question, and leverage GenAI to drive the best possible societal impact together and shape our organizations and ecosystems as a conscious, intentional set of choices – not something we just fall into because we fail to see the new opportunity space. We can all be agents of change in our organizations, communities, homes, and professional networks. Hence, I see this as a joint exploration with fellow travelers.

Full disclosure: I intend to use the tools I am interrogating in this project, including various GPTs from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Mistral, and other companies such as ChatGPT, Gemini Notebook, Grammarly, Zoom AI, and others, as appropriate.

Project Scope:

  1. What is this project? This initiative stems from my interdisciplinary journey—combining academic research, teaching, entrepreneurship, and practical leadership experience in startups and global corporations. I aim to bridge the gap between theory and practice, providing actionable insights on GenAI ethics across industries, emphasizing those where I have real-world experience, such as financial services, healthcare, education, and Silicon Valley innovation. This work is rooted in my doctoral research, where I assess the ethical implications of GenAI in society, education, and organizations; my teaching, where I developed and taught a seminal course exploring GenAI ethics in healthcare; and my hands-on work with GenAI startups.
  2. How will this work? I’ve developed a tentative roadmap to guide this exploration, covering foundational ethical concepts, real-world applications, and challenges across key industries and use cases. However, I am cognizant that the territory is changing daily, so this is a fluid roadmap—evolving and adapting as GenAI rapidly changes and progresses. Regularly, actionable articles will be shared across platforms like LinkedIn, Substack, and a new GenAIEthics.ai website. These articles inspire critical thinking, encourage constructive feedback, and provide helpful information to promote leaders’ reflection while navigating the latest developments in GenAI and its ethical implications.
  3. Why am I doing this? My goal is to share findings, foster dialogue, and disseminate practical frameworks now—while the technology is still evolving—not wait months or years for academic papers or books to be published, including the ones I am writing. Leaders and practitioners need guidance to make informed, ethical decisions about how GenAI is used in their organizations and communities and to shape it toward humans today.
  4. What will we explore together? We’ll examine GenAI ethics in society and industries where I have hands-on experience: financial services, healthcare, higher education, Silicon Valley innovation, and global corporations. We’ll dive into questions about bias, accountability, transparency, and human agency, among other challenges and opportunities, aiming to equip leaders with the tools they need to engage critically with GenAI and make it a force for good.

Conclusion and Recommendations:

This series is about forging a collaborative journey to share insights, helpful information, and questions for leaders to reflect on. It is not just about answering questions about GenAI ethics. Yes, it’s partly about that. But more importantly, it’s about asking the right questions. Not questions rooted in the old system but rather in the evolving opportunity space. I want this forum to be valuable for leaders, educators, healthcare practitioners, and anyone interested in understanding and shaping the ethical implications of GenAI. As we begin this exploration, I encourage you to:

  • Engage with the content: Share your thoughts, experiences, and feedback. Your perspectives will help shape the direction of this project.
  • Apply what you learn: Use the insights and frameworks discussed here to drive ethical GenAI discussions and decisions in your organizations and communities.
  • Stay curious: GenAI evolves rapidly, and we all learn together. Let’s approach this journey with openness and critical thinking.

Together, we can build a shared understanding of GenAI ethics and its potential to create a positive impact.

Engagement Questions:

  1. What ethical questions or challenges about GenAI keep you up at night?
  2. How can this GenAI Ethics series best address your needs and provide practical value?

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