PHILOSOPHY AND PRAXIS

Not too long ago, business ethics was thought of as an oxymoron. This was the case because profit maximization was christened as the sole purpose of business. Time has however changed this attitude as the stakeholders of the business are now demanding more from business enterprises, especially in this algorithmic era. In this paper, a philosophical appraisal of business ethics in this algorithmic era was carried out. Since concept clarification is one of the essences of philosophy, the study started by reviewing the concept of business ethics. Peter Drucker’s argument of business ethics as ethics in business was highlighted and corroborated. More importantly, algorithmic bias a major ethical issue in business was discussed at length with the use of non-fictional case studies that expose the existence and impact algorithmic bias has on the society. Furthermore, ethical frameworks suitable for the resolution of the ethical issue that borders on algorithmic bias were paid attention. In the process, the pitfalls of the legal system and laws enacted for the regulation of artificial intelligence/machine learning in business were spotlighted. In the same vein, the importance of the modification and improvement of ethical frameworks was addressed as it was revealed in the study that ethics enhances the law and even covers certain areas in which the law is silent. The study further looked at social pressure and its impact on business ethics and called for the assimilation of ethicists in the AI industry to achieve responsible AI which in this era largely means responsible business.

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