Ethical dilemmas in psychological counseling

Imagine a plot in which the hero is faced with a moral choice.
Why, a real sadistic choice. Become a dissident defector and commit treason for the sake of an idea, or remain faithful to the end and be a villain by virtue of your position? Resurrect your dead beloved with the help of black magic, placing yourself and her on the other side of the law and morality, or leave her in the grave? Side with a totalitarian peacemaker and prolong the agony of a rotten, corrupt and authoritarian, but stable and relatively comfortable dying empire for an indefinite number of decades, or support a well-meaning extremist and destroy it for the vague hope of building something more worthy from its ruins? You and the hero are rushing between options, painfully weighing the pros and cons, if the work is ongoing, and also participating in holivars on the topic of this choice. And as a result... The opposite side is actually much worse than the hero’s comrades-in-arms, they are simply hiding behind beautiful slogans. Those resurrected by necromancy always return differently. According to the plan of a well-meaning extremist, the rotten empire will be replaced by totalitarian tyranny with mass torture, the cult of the Leader and the daily preventive execution of neighbors and stray dogs. In short, the hero has no choice, for example, because one option is obviously and objectively worse than the other. Or because circumstances chose for the hero. Or because the dilemma in the light of subsequent events in the plot turned out to be completely unimportant. Important! This only includes situations in which the hero knows the consequences of the choice in advance. If, after making a choice, it suddenly turns out that the hero was wrong and did much worse than he expected, then this is a moral frame-up. If the hero could predict the situation and understand which option was worse, but justifiably stepped and made the wrong choice, then this is a benign and never merged moral dilemma.

What is a dilemma?

The word Dilemma takes its roots from the Latin language. This concept consists of two words: di (two) and lemma (judgment, opinion, possibility). That is, it can be literally translated as “double opportunity” or “dual opinion.”

The origin of the word “dilemma” is based on the situation of choosing one of two. But there is a choice from a larger number of options, you will say, and you will be absolutely right. Such situations received appropriate names: trilemma, polylemma, and so on. However, we are all more familiar with the word dilemma, since it is most often used in everyday life.

In fact, a dilemma is not even a choice, but a kind of analysis of prerequisites. From a scientific point of view, the dilemma does not give much importance to choice. It is the problems of preconditions that are considered here. But since they both lead in the same direction, the choice does not matter in principle.

Consider a classic example: there is an opinion A and an opinion B. Both opinions lead to result B. A dilemma arises: which opinion will be the most correct? The question is not considered here: what to choose, but rather an analysis of opinions and prerequisites is carried out to identify the most correct result.

It doesn't matter what you choose in a controversial situation. The result will ultimately be the same. In other words, a dilemma is an either-or situation with a single result. Dilemma questions can touch on very subtle aspects of life.

For example, according to the samurai code of honor - bushido, dying on the battlefield is considered a great honor. If a warrior in a life or death situation chooses the former, the outcome will be no different from death. By choosing life, he dooms himself and his family to eternal shame. Having chosen life, he in fact chooses death, only a little different. Thus, there is no importance of choice in the dilemma. There is the importance of the truth of an opinion or premise.

What is a dilemma? The definition in simple words can be found in the dictionary. It states that a dilemma is a choice between two mutually exclusive premises or conclusions. Or simply put: when there is no third option. One way or another, a dilemma is always a choice. The choice in the dilemma could be:

• Important;
• Imaginary;
• Unimportant;
• Obvious;
• Conscious;
• Unconscious.

You can talk endlessly about the importance of choice, but sooner or later you will have to make it. Every day in the world, people are faced with a dilemma when they have to make a choice between two. This affects almost all areas of human life:

• Sport;
• Job;
• Business;
• Music;
• Education.

The question of choice also affects the spiritual spheres, forcing one to decide on religious views and worldview.

Will AI replace humans at work?

For many people, the biggest fear about AI is the replacement of the human workforce by machines across a wide range of industries. And as with all technological breakthroughs, today we see that jobs are not being lost. Instead, the need for skills is changing and employers are looking to fill positions that were never considered before. The more AI penetrates real life, the more such examples there will be.

AI will replace humans in certain industries, especially in transport, retail, government services and services. This means that organizations will be able to use human resources to perform higher-level tasks than taking the same type of orders, solving simple consumer problems, or manually entering data.

Yes, machines can solve specific problems much better than humans. But we must not forget that they are not at all capable of coping with other tasks. So the goal of introducing AI is not at all to replace people with machines, but to make human work easier, allowing him to concentrate on more complex and enjoyable work. According to Gartner research, by 2023 it is expected that analytics will become a more extensive tool and, instead of the current 35%, will increase usage coverage to 50%.

Types of dilemmas

Depending on what area of ​​life the problem of choice affects, the dilemma takes on a certain direction. It is generally accepted that there are five main types of dilemmas:

1. Ethical.

2. Moral.

3. Moral.

4. Psychological.

5. Prisoner's dilemma.

They all come down to a choice of mutually exclusive premises. The only difference is the identity of the choice. Let's look at them in order of importance.

A dilemma in psychology is represented by mutually exclusive choices. A person will be faced with questions of either/or psychological choice throughout his life. This question can arise in almost any situation when you need to overcome yourself.

Most often, a person makes this choice unconsciously, on a subconscious level. But in any case, a person will be fully aware of the consequences of his choice. This can manifest itself in various emotions:

• Anger;
• Shame;
• Sadness;
• Self-confidence.

One way or another, the dilemma in matters of human psychology comes up very often. A person may not even realize that he is faced with a choice. But in any case, he will do it.

Ethical dilemma also relates to psychological choices. But here the question is in the interaction of people with each other. Choice is most often represented by a question of the relationship of one person to another or in the determination of a specific action. This issue may involve moral and ethical values.

However, it is usually characterized within the framework of acceptable behavior within a certain circle. An ethical dilemma can arise during the interaction of two different social groups or in a professional relationship: specialist-client.

Typically, the choice in an ethical dilemma involves accepting the rules of the game. In this case, you either act in a closed system in accordance with the rules, or without taking them into account.

To solve an ethical dilemma, the prisoner's dilemma and game theory can be used. The Prisoner's Dilemma is a theory that states that players will not interact with each other even if it is in their best interest to do so. It is also called the prisoner's dilemma.

This is a fundamental position from game theory. The theory itself describes the rules of behavior of players in a closed system (game). This is true of any closed system with clearly established rules and a set of possible actions.

Game theory can mathematically describe almost any situation and predict its development. The prisoner's dilemma in this theory is necessary to describe the behavior of two players from different teams, representing different interests, but having a common goal. The bottom line is this: players from different teams will choose betrayal over cooperation, even if the latter leads to mutual benefit.

Players in this system are only interested in their own benefit. Therefore, cooperation for players is considered unacceptable, due to the benefit of the opponent.

To solve the prisoner's dilemma, we can consider moral dilemmas. The moral issue is the choice between acting according to established rules or resisting the system. This dilemma is very similar to an ethical one. However, if in an ethical dilemma the choice is made between playing by the rules or without them, then the moral one assumes that the rules have already been accepted, but in order to perform the action it is necessary to step over them.

There is a special kind of dilemma - a moral one. A moral dilemma is making a choice according to personal preference. That is, when a person is faced with a choice: to do as he likes or as he should. Often what is needed in this matter is determined by the imposed rules of the game. On the other hand, morality is defined as part of the rules, only more acceptable for a particular player. In other words, a moral dilemma is a choice between “I want” and “I must.”

To better understand the types of dilemmas and their relationships, I propose to consider each using examples from life.

Is AI the new big brother watching over us?

The question of the balance between privacy and human surveillance is a constant topic of discussion in the field of information technology. After all, today the collection and storage of data occurs in digital form, and we are increasingly surrounded by various sensors that convert ordinary, “analog” details of our everyday affairs into digital format. As a consequence, our lives automatically become more digital.

Numerous free Internet services keep a huge trail of information behind us, and this is how they make money by using our information trails. But we cannot even imagine how this information about us will be used in the future.

AI technology developers collect, process and use huge amounts of personal data every day. And, more often than not, they do not ask permission from each subject of their research before working with big data. Therefore, the work of AI with large volumes of real records often leads to the disclosure of personal data and creates the risk of compromising personal information.

Fortunately, experts have been working on solving this problem for several years, and proven methods for protecting privacy already exist. Yes, their implementation requires a little more effort and money, but it is possible to create systems that take into account security requirements - with encryption of communications and anonymization of data used for analysis.

The most problematic area in this case remains the issue of application of laws at the level of states and individuals. For example, in the European Union there is a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and in Russia, high requirements are applied to any companies that handle personal information, in accordance with No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data”. Meanwhile, in the United States and China, the level of government intervention in the operation of AI systems appears to be lower. This is probably done to achieve breakthroughs and take advantage of new technologies.

Which approach is actually better? It’s difficult to answer this question, but Gartner analysts are already predicting that by 2024, 60% of all data needed to develop AI applications will be generated synthetically, without creating privacy risks.

Dilemma: examples from life

Let's consider classic examples of dilemmas from life to clearly understand what is described. Let us describe a situation in which there is a reason (P), the first prerequisite (A) and the second (B), as well as the result - C.

So, in my youth I had a cat. A good, beautiful cat, but with one drawback - he always shit in the wrong place. I had a dilemma: the cat was pooping in the wrong litter box and I had to do something about it (P).

Two prerequisites arose: either train the cat to use the litter box (A) or give it to other people (B).
In both situation A and situation B, result C will be achieved - the cat will stop pooping in the wrong place. This is a classic dilemma in which the result is achieved by two interchangeable premises. But in any case, the desired result is achieved. If you're interested in how it all ended, I'll tell you. The cat was eventually litter box trained. True, it took a lot of effort. But that is another story. For now, I will describe examples of different types of dilemmas.

Moral Dilemma: Real Life Examples

Examples of a moral dilemma can be given by situations in which it is necessary to step over certain rules.

For example, the most trivial example would be a crime. Let's say you need to earn a certain amount of money. They can be earned (A), or they can be stolen (B). In both cases, result (B) is achieved.

A more complicated example: you are a school student and you have a lesson. You need to leave early. You can do this according to the rules by asking to take time off from class (A), or you can leave on your own (B). In any case, result B will be achieved.

As is clear from the example, in a moral dilemma a person decides what is closer to him: following the rules or achieving a goal. For example, the very thought of theft disgusts me. I even cross the road only when the light is green, regardless of whether there are cars nearby.

However, I admit that in the absence of choice, for example, in a situation of military operations and the impossibility of getting what you want legally, the rules established by society and the law can be broken.

Ethical Dilemmas: Examples

The easiest way to explain this concept is to give examples of ethical dilemmas at work. Ethical dilemmas often appear in the work of a psychologist.

For example, a psychologist needs to help a client (P). He can do this according to all the rules (A), or give in to the rules for the sake of the result (B). In any case, the result will be achieved, one way or another. The opposite situation, in which it is necessary to indicate to the person the exit (P). You can do this according to all the rules (A), or behave more harshly (B). The result will be achieved in any case.

If this example is not clear, I will give a simpler one.

Imagine that you are a doctor who has learned an intimate secret of a patient. This man cheated on his pregnant wife and contracted gonorrhea. On the one hand, it is impossible to inform his wife about this - this is at odds with the principle of maintaining medical confidentiality (for disclosing it, by the way, the doctor can receive a real sentence).

On the other hand, if this man infects his wife, this will have an extremely negative impact on their unborn child. What to do in such a situation? How to protect your baby? After all, a doctor’s job is to help people. In this case, P, that is, the desired result, is help, and the options for achieving this result are the disclosure of medical confidentiality or the construction of a treatment system in such a way that the man certainly cannot harm his wife and child.

Prisoner's dilemma

To consider the prisoner's dilemma, the political situation in the world immediately comes to mind. Let's take a trite look at the relations between Russia and the United States. Let's say it is necessary to give a qualitative impetus to the economies of countries.

It is clear that with the mutual assistance of these countries to each other, their economic situation can reach much greater positions in a short time. But, since they are rivals in this game, and each represents their own interests, it is not profitable for them to interact, since this will lead to the prosperity of the opponent. Even if the benefits of cooperation far outweigh their disadvantages, players will try their best to play individually.

If you enter “prisoner’s dilemma: real-life examples” into the search bar in your browser, the search engine will not reward you with a large number of interesting and accessible results. This is strange, because such a dilemma is very common in everyday life.

For example, you and your colleague were given the same tasks and promised a bonus to the first person to submit a report. Obviously, if you combine your efforts, you will save a lot of time, and one way or another, get the job done. But the desire to be the first to receive the reward does not give you the opportunity to cooperate. Therefore, you are more likely to try to overtake your colleague than to cooperate with him.

Classic Examples

Crowded Ship On 13 March 1841, William Brown's ship left Liverpool with 17 crew and 65 passengers, most of whom were Irish and Scottish immigrants. On April 19, the ship collided with an iceberg and began to quickly sink. There were two boats, one large and one small. The captain, eight sailors and passengers boarded a small boat, forty people, including nine passengers, occupied a large boat. There was not enough space on the large boat for passengers, the wind rose and it began to rain heavily. The leader and crew knew that if they wanted to survive, they had to get rid of the excess weight on the boat and in order to do that, some passengers needed to be disembarked. In this sad situation, Alexander Holmes, one of the sailors, along with other crew members, began to throw people into the icy waters of the Atlantic. Upon his arrival in Philadelphia, Alexander Holmes was convicted of manslaughter, but in view of the exceptional situation in which he had to make this choice, he was sentenced to six months in prison and a $20 fine. There was a lot of public sympathy and everyone agreed that Holmes had no personal grudge against any of the passengers who were to be jettisoned, and he did it in the interests of the majority, but many people criticized the sailors for saving their own lives rather than passengers.

See also: Recommendations for improving memory

Sophie's Choice William Styron's 1976 novel, Sophie's Choice is also an example of a moral dilemma. In the novel, Polish woman Sophie Zawistowska is told by the Nazis to choose between the life of her son and her daughter. In an impulse, she decides that they can take their daughter, she thought that her son is older and stronger, and will survive. Unfortunately, she will never hear his forgiveness for her choice between children, Sophie commits suicide.

Fat Man in the Cave A group of people are stuck in a cave where the water level is rising. There is only one small exit from the cave, but unfortunately one of their friends, a fat man, gets stuck there. Although they try to push him out, it won't help. If the fat man does not move away from the mouth of the cave, they will all die. One of the participants, who has a stick of dynamite, offers to blow up their friend in order to get out of the cave. This is again the moral dilemma of a situation where someone must be sacrificed so that others can live.

(Please note that the example "The Crowded Ship" is a true story, while the other examples are fictional)

Is playing with AI worth the trouble?

Even with all the dark spots in the field of AI and questionable use cases discussed above, the clear answer to this question is “Yes!” After all, the introduction of AI makes our lives easier and better every day. And one of the areas that has received a huge boost from the adoption of AI is healthcare. It is AI technologies that help to quickly select more effective treatments, interpret medical images, track patient data from wearable sensors, find new drugs and test vaccines in a shorter time.

In banking, AI helps identify suspicious transactions, review loan applications...AI can write articles, compose music, schedule your haircut, translate menus in foreign countries, and even select the types of wine you are most likely to like.

As technology advances, we will interact with increasingly reliable and intelligent systems, and AI will become an integral part of our daily activities. With more technology leaders today working to use AI responsibly—striving for transparency, privacy, and fairness—we can look forward to implementing ethical practices and privacy protections that put people first. AI is here to stay and will be with us for a long time, so our job is to make the most of it.

— Author: Agnieszka Piechocka, SAS consultant in Poland

Neutralizing potential killers

Over the past 20 years, neuroscientists and psychologists have conducted many tests that prove that the tendency to violence is largely determined by disorders in the brain. For example, dissocial, borderline, and narcissistic personality disorders often manifest themselves in this way (although, of course, not all people with this diagnosis are prone to violence). In all these pathologies, when studied, characteristic physiological manifestations are revealed: changes in the tonsils, which are involved in the formation of emotions, changes in the level of metabolism in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in the control of impulsive reactions, etc.

For now, such studies remain nothing more than just research, but perhaps in the future they will become the basis for creating technology for early detection of propensity for violence. Is proactive surveillance of a potential killer justified if he hasn't done anything yet?

Conservation of intelligence

A person’s life experience can be considered as an information block, which in theory can be rewritten to an external medium. The idea of ​​conservation of intelligence has appeared more than once in science fiction films. For example, in the short film “The Last Minutes of Karl Brant,” a neuroscientist is found dead in his home, and during the investigation it turns out that he managed to create technology for copying human memory onto a hard drive. If such a disk is connected to a special device, the human head appears in front of researchers in digital form. “I'm not dead. “I’m here,” says the new Brant. - My body is just a body. This is the real me."

The idea of ​​preserving oneself for future generations has occurred to people more than once. Previously, they talked more often about freezing: in Russia, for example, there was a work that specialized in preserving bodies and brains (the cost of neuropreservation was $12 thousand). However, with the development of computer technology, the tissues themselves as a carrier may not be needed, at least if we are talking about data preservation, and not about “revitalization”. Then, as often happens, the richest will get access to the service first. Will there be a need to allocate a free quota, and if so, for whom? How to make a selection, if necessary, and how to determine the value of a particular intelligence?

Neuronet under the supervision of intelligence services

Two years ago, a group of American researchers managed to prove that brain-to-brain interface is a very real thing. Contact was observed in two animals, two people, and even a person and a laboratory rat. To transmit the message, an electroencephalograph (which allows you to record the electrical signals of the brain) and a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) machine, which selectively increases the activity of the cortex using short magnetic pulses, were required. And at another university, scientists also used transcranial focused ultrasound, or FUS, which can modulate neural activity in the right areas, and an interface for translating electrical impulses from the brain into computer commands.

Technological “telepathy” makes it possible to transform and transmit a signal resulting from synaptic transmission - the process of movement of substances between nerve cells that cause bursts of electrical activity in them. In the future, this technology may allow us to exchange telepathic messages using wearable gadgets, and these messages will be transmitted directly from brain to brain. Such a “neuronet” will most likely be under the surveillance of intelligence services, as happened with the Internet. In addition, there will probably be hackers who can hack it. Is it worth developing technology that will directly influence our minds? This is, of course, a big question.

Icons: 1) Simon Child, 2) TNS, 3) Aha-Soft, 4) Alex Kwa, 5), 6) Luis Prado, 7) Iconathon - from the Noun Project.

Child of three parents

In 2015, the House of Lords of the British Parliament approved an amendment to the so-called “three-parent law.” It allows the genes of three people to be combined during artificial insemination, so that women with mitochondrial genetic mutations have the opportunity to have healthy children. Technically, this technique is a continuation of IVF, when eggs and sperm are combined in a test tube and then implanted in the uterus at the right time for pregnancy. However, the fact is that the genetic material is contained not only in the nucleus of the eggs, but also in the mitochondria: information about hereditary diseases is stored here. And if “sick” mitochondria in the egg of one woman are replaced during IVF with “healthy” mitochondria from another woman, the defect is neutralized.

Today, the mitochondrial donor does not formally become the parent of the child, but in the future such a need may arise: for example, in the case of polygamous or homosexual families. In addition, if the method of creating “designer babies” turns out to be truly successful, it may become as popular as IVF - and in this case it will cause a lot of controversy.