The Utility and Ethics Around Artificial Intelligence in Applied Behavior Analysis

Like "behavior analysis", artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad label that refers to many different things, that can be used in many ways, and in many contexts. Despite the broad variability in what constitutes AI, many people's experiences and associations with the term "AI" have largely been around one type of AI system: large language models (LLMs). This presentation involves two components. First, we review the many other types of AI that exist and their utility for improving how behavior analysts deliver ABA services. Second, the field of AI ethics has been around for decades, highlighting many cautions and caveats to the use of AI systems in healthcare and education. Thus, the second portion of this talk reviews relevant topics from the AI ethics literature, how they intersect with the BACB Code of Ethics, and how we can use our understanding of choice and decision-making to ethically evaluate AI systems in our everyday work environments. In total, audience members should leave this webinar with a more sophisticated understanding of what AI is and strategies for how to ethically integrate AI into their work.

Learning Objectives
- Audience members will describe three (or more) types of artificial intelligence distinct from large language models (LLMs).
- Audience members will describe how the data used to build AI systems constrains the use-cases for which they should (and should not) be used.
- Audience members will describe two (or more) topics common to AI Ethics and how they relate to the BACB Code of Ethics.