Technology as uncharted territory: Contextual integrity and the notion of AI as new ethical ground

AI development often ignores existing social norms: The paper argues that AI practitioners frequently develop and deploy systems without considering the specific social contexts where they'll be used, which can undermine the established ethical rules and norms that already govern those contexts.

Contextual integrity matters ethically: Drawing on Helen Nissenbaum's framework, the author demonstrates that disregarding context-specific norms can seriously damage the integrity of important social institutions—with significant ethical consequences for the people affected.

"AI as new ethical ground" can be counterproductive: The paper critiques a common narrative in AI ethics that treats AI as entirely novel territory requiring new ethical rules from scratch. This approach can inadvertently legitimize ignoring the proven norms and practices that have already been carefully developed within specific professions and communities.

We should preserve existing virtues, not just innovate new ones: Rather than focusing exclusively on creating new ethical frameworks for AI, the author argues that responsible AI development should prioritize integrating AI thoughtfully with the established professional practices, virtues, and norms that already exist in concrete social contexts.

Current AI ethics may be too narrow: The paper suggests that the field's heavy emphasis on moral innovation over moral preservation represents a problematic imbalance that leaves practitioners, policymakers, and ethicists disconnected from the practical wisdom already embedded in existing institutional contexts.