Epilogue
Courses of Action
Robert has several options he could take while deciding how to respond to the concerns regarding GeoAI’s training data. He could continue preparing the platform for release without taking any further action. However, this would be against his concerns about artists' rights. The other course of action is to report the issue to higher management, or request a formal investigation into the dataset within the company. However, this could lead to conflict between his co-workers, or a threat to his position in the company.
The most reasonable and ethical approach would be for Robert to work with Emily, the legal and ethics advisor, to present his concerns to management. This prevents him looking like he’s demanding the entire project be stopped, but instead proposing a review of the training data and a plan to solve any problems before the release
Responses
Robert has, and in the future may receive rationalization from his coworkers trying to discourage him from raising ethical concerns. First, Iggy may argue standard practice, that publicly available artwork is common among generative AI companies. Robert could respond by explaining that something being common practice in an industry does not make it ethical or legal.
Piper may argue locus of loyalty, that delaying the launch could cause financial issues. With these financial issues, it could hurt fellow employees and investors. Robert should explain that addressing the problem before further legal trouble would help protect GeoAI and its employees.
Some other possible responses involve Locus of Responsibility by Piper, saying that copyright concerns are Emily's concerns, and engineers and reviews should not be worried about it. Robert can respond that engineers should have a responsibility to understand how the data they created is being used, and how their systems could affect others.
Finally, Materiality could be brought up by Iggy, arguing that the number of images used is too small to affect artists in a way that would need the project to be halted. Robert could explain that the company should look into the extent of the problem, and even a small problem could turn into a bigger one later on.