Artificial Intelligence: in Search for Formalization of Ethical Foundations

Introduction. In digital age the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in society is largely determined by the technological breakthrough in the field of applied AI over the past two decades. However the implementation of AI innovations not only opens up new opportunities for individuals and society as a whole, but also raises a number of problems, primarily of a socio-ethical focus. In particular, the scientific community considers the problem of “moral machines” to be of high research priority. The article deals with the problems of ethical regulation of AI in human-machine communication, latest research results, and trends in this field.Methodology and sources. The article is based on methodology of cultural-philosophical, axiological and interdisciplinary approaches. There were also used the following sources: scientific research of Russian and foreign authors, documents, publications and websites dedicated to the current state of AI and the tasks to be solved by specialists in the field of AI ethics.Results and discussion. The urgency of issues in the field of AI ethics determines the need for systematization of basic ethical concepts in order to integrate ethics into applied AI. It is argued that despite the accumulation of regulatory basis in the field of AI ethics, the problem of conclusive formalization of ethical norms in this field is still unresolved. The main difficulty with the aforementioned norms lies in the fact that ethics of AI is more dependent upon formalization than upon semantics. Conclusion. Currently, the process of establishing a regulatory framework for ethics of AI is actively discussed in industry and science. However, if we want the human-machine communication to start its development from the standpoint of a human-centric digital age, it is important not only to solve ethical problems, but also to create new professions in the field of AI ethics, as well as to introduce new approaches towards the training of engineers and developers of AI systems that meet demands of the time.