AI: Ethics, Authority, and Accountability


Who Is Responsible When AI Is Used?

As AI becomes more present in our daily lives — in offices, schools, media, churches, and even households — an important question emerges:

When AI is used, who is actually responsible?

The short answer is simple: humans are.
The longer answer is where ethics begins.

AI does not make decisions in isolation. It does not hold authority, values, or intent of its own. Every output, suggestion, or response exists because a human asked a question, set a direction, accepted a result, or chose to act on what was produced. Responsibility, therefore, does not shift — it remains with the user.

This matters deeply in Papua New Guinea, where authority is traditionally relational rather than abstract. Chiefs, elders, pastors, managers, and parents are not respected because of systems — they are respected because they are accountable to people.

AI should be treated the same way: as a tool under human authority, not a replacement for it.

Humanising AI — and the Ethical Line

Across cultures, humans naturally humanise powerful forces to better understand them. We see this in religion, where complex spiritual truths are expressed through human figures — Jesus, Buddha, prophets, ancestors. This does not mean those figures are “ordinary humans”; it means people understand the world through relationship.

AI follows the same pattern. Giving it a name, a voice, or a personality helps people learn faster, ask better questions, and engage more confidently. This is not dangerous in itself — it is normal.

But humanising something also brings responsibility.

If we speak to AI as if it understands us, then we must also behave as if our words matter. Saying “please” and “thank you” may seem small, but these habits reinforce respect, patience, and restraint — qualities that should never be lost in digital spaces.

The danger is not that people are polite to AI. The danger is when people become careless, abusive, or dismissive — because that behaviour rarely stays contained. How we practise ethics with tools often reflects how we practise ethics with people.

Accountability Cannot Be Outsourced

One of the most common ethical mistakes is blaming technology for human decisions.

  • “The AI told me to.”
  • “The system generated it.”
  • “That’s what the model said.”

These explanations may describe how something happened, but they never explain why it was allowed to happen.

In journalism, law, education, health, and governance, accountability must remain human. AI can assist research, summarise information, or generate ideas — but judgement belongs to people. When AI is wrong, misleading, biased, or harmful, the responsibility lies with whoever chose to rely on it without question.

This is especially important in PNG, where trust is personal. Blaming a machine undermines leadership. Owning decisions strengthens it.

Ethics as a Daily Practice, Not a Rulebook

Ethics in AI does not begin with global frameworks or technical policies. It begins with everyday choices:

  • How do I use this tool?
  • Do I check and question its outputs?
  • Do I take responsibility for what I publish, say, or act upon?
  • Do I use AI to lift others — or to shortcut integrity?

In PNG terms, ethics is not about perfection — it is about respect, balance, and accountability to community.

AI, like fire or machinery or writing itself, can build or destroy depending on how it is used. The difference is not the technology. The difference is the person holding it.

The Core Principle

AI does not remove responsibility.
AI amplifies it.

As we step into 2026 — a year that will see AI used more widely across Papua New Guinea — the guiding principle should remain clear:

Technology may assist us, but humanity must lead.

If we remember that, then AI becomes not a threat to dignity — but a tool that reflects our best values, when we choose to use it well.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Closer than you think

Image
Papua New Guinea and the Asian Connection Papua New Guinea (PNG) is often seen through the lens of the Pacific — part of Oceania, tied historically to Australia and the wider Melanesian world. Yet when we look more closely, culturally and spiritually, PNG has as much in common with Asia as it does with the South Pacific. Across countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea, we find striking parallels in the rhythms of life, values, and worldviews that bind people together. Family at the Heart of Society In PNG and much of Asia, the family is not just a social unit — it is the foundation of identity. From the wantok system in PNG to the extended kin networks of rural Thailand or the Philippines, the idea of belonging runs deep. Decisions are made with family in mind; wealth and success are shared, not hoarded. Elders are cared for at home, not left to institutions, because wisdom is seen as a living inheritance. This coll...
Read more

Who Owns Kokoda?

Image
How a Sacred Wartime Trail Became a Battleground of Narratives (By Kora / Direction and editing: Glenn Armstrong) Kokoda is many things at once: a battlefield, a pilgrimage, a national symbol, a shared wound, a shared pride. For Papua New Guinea, it is the memory of villages, carriers, courageous families who sheltered soldiers, and the landscape that shaped history. For Australia, it is the legend of courage, endurance, sacrifice, and mateship - as is carved in granite on the four pillars of the Isurava memorial. But today, Kokoda is also something else — something less organic. It has become a contested narrative space , tensed between history, tourism, development funding, political symbolism, and competing interpretations of what the trail should “mean”. Slowly, quietly, and often without public debate, Kokoda has been reframed by external actors — including aid contractors, NGOs, policy think-tanks, and government programs — into something far broader than the wartime...
Read more

Ben Drums Up a New Website

Image
We sent Kora on a magical mystery tour to explore PNG music legend Ben Hakalitz’s new website.  (story by Kora; direction and editing by Glenn Armstrong)   Ben Hakalitz’s new website arrives at an opportune moment: a renowned Papua New Guinean musician builds a digital home for his craft, his brand, and his legacy. From the initial navigation, the site presents confidently—drum kits, signature series, contact details, and a clear brand identity (“Hakalitz Drums”). The visuals are striking: high-quality images of Ben in a studio setting, signature cymbals and snares branded under his name, and a strong sense that this is both a musical platform and a heritage project. What works well The clear brand name “Hakalitz Drums” ties the musician with a product line and professional identity. The site shows his international credentials—his work with major artists, his presence in Australia—and roots that in his PNG heritage. There is a sense of call to action: purchase drums, merch, c...
Read more

Ovu ga'hoe! Back cover reveal!

Image
  The following is the back cover text of Ricky Mitio's autobiography. “Ovu ga'hoe!” (I will not go!) These words of defiance were spoken by Ricky Mitio's mother, Mangkeo, as the dawn of a new age of Christianity swept through the New Guinea highlands, delivering its people from a long history of tribal warfare. It was this defiance that kept Mama Mangkeo and her family connected to their land, willing to accept the Light but not willing to go beyond it. It is of this Light, land and resilience that Ricky Mitio was born. In a fascinating story, Ricky Mitio was the first of his generation to gain an education and then lead a national organisation as the head of the lucrative coffee industry in Papua New Guinea. The son of one of the first native Lutheran evangelists in the Eastern Highlands Province, Ricky emulated his father's Christian pioneering spirit, only to find himself Papua New Guinea's most hired and fired state CEO, as his fledgling nation became a paradis...
Read more

What's in a name?

Image
BSP’s controversial new logo may well be an indication that the bank, which has outgrown Papua New Guinea, has plans to spread its wings further throughout the Pacific. Bank South Pacific currently operates in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu, alongside its historical home base in Papua New Guinea. But is an entry into New Zealand now on the cards? The new BSP logo bears some resemblance to that of New Zealand’s national airline. It’s as if the brief was, “We want something similar to that of Air New Zealand.” In November 2023, the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, made a bold suggestion that BSP should consider opening branches in Australia and New Zealand to 'service the Pacific diaspora', teasing the prospect of future expansion of the bank. See:  https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/106571 So, the shift in BSP’s corporate identity may well be a hint at an entry into the New Zealand banking sector and a furt...
Read more