2019
Wynsberghe, Aimee; Robbins, Scott
Critiquing the Reasons for Making Artificial Moral Agents Journal Article
In: Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 719–735, 2019, ISSN: 1471-5546.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: artificial intelligence, artificial moral agents, machine ethics, robot ethics
@article{vanWynsberghe2019,
title = {Critiquing the Reasons for Making Artificial Moral Agents},
author = {Aimee Wynsberghe and Scott Robbins},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-018-0030-8},
doi = {10.1007/s11948-018-0030-8},
issn = {1471-5546},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-06-01},
urldate = {2019-06-01},
journal = {Science and Engineering Ethics},
volume = {25},
number = {3},
pages = {719–735},
abstract = {Many industry leaders and academics from the field of machine ethics would have us believe that the inevitability of robots coming to have a larger role in our lives demands that robots be endowed with moral reasoning capabilities. Robots endowed in this way may be referred to as artificial moral agents (AMA). Reasons often given for developing AMAs are: the prevention of harm, the necessity for public trust, the prevention of immoral use, such machines are better moral reasoners than humans, and building these machines would lead to a better understanding of human morality. Although some scholars have challenged the very initiative to develop AMAs, what is currently missing from the debate is a closer examination of the reasons offered by machine ethicists to justify the development of AMAs. This closer examination is especially needed because of the amount of funding currently being allocated to the development of AMAs (from funders like Elon Musk) coupled with the amount of attention researchers and industry leaders receive in the media for their efforts in this direction. The stakes in this debate are high because moral robots would make demands on society; answers to a host of pending questions about what counts as an AMA and whether they are morally responsible for their behavior or not. This paper shifts the burden of proof back to the machine ethicists demanding that they give good reasons to build AMAs. The paper argues that until this is done, the development of commercially available AMAs should not proceed further.},
keywords = {artificial intelligence, artificial moral agents, machine ethics, robot ethics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Many industry leaders and academics from the field of machine ethics would have us believe that the inevitability of robots coming to have a larger role in our lives demands that robots be endowed with moral reasoning capabilities. Robots endowed in this way may be referred to as artificial moral agents (AMA). Reasons often given for developing AMAs are: the prevention of harm, the necessity for public trust, the prevention of immoral use, such machines are better moral reasoners than humans, and building these machines would lead to a better understanding of human morality. Although some scholars have challenged the very initiative to develop AMAs, what is currently missing from the debate is a closer examination of the reasons offered by machine ethicists to justify the development of AMAs. This closer examination is especially needed because of the amount of funding currently being allocated to the development of AMAs (from funders like Elon Musk) coupled with the amount of attention researchers and industry leaders receive in the media for their efforts in this direction. The stakes in this debate are high because moral robots would make demands on society; answers to a host of pending questions about what counts as an AMA and whether they are morally responsible for their behavior or not. This paper shifts the burden of proof back to the machine ethicists demanding that they give good reasons to build AMAs. The paper argues that until this is done, the development of commercially available AMAs should not proceed further.
2016
Wynsberghe, Aimee
Service robots, care ethics, and design Journal Article
In: Ethics and Information Technology, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 311–321, 2016, ISSN: 1572-8439.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: applied ethics, artificial intelligence, care ethics, robot ethics, service robots, value sensitive design, value:health
@article{vanWynsberghe2016,
title = {Service robots, care ethics, and design},
author = {Aimee Wynsberghe},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-016-9409-x},
doi = {10.1007/s10676-016-9409-x},
issn = {1572-8439},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-12-01},
urldate = {2016-12-01},
journal = {Ethics and Information Technology},
volume = {18},
number = {4},
pages = {311–321},
abstract = {It should not be a surprise in the near future to encounter either a personal or a professional service robot in our homes and/or our work places: according to the International Federation for Robots, there will be approx 35 million service robots at work by 2018. Given that individuals will interact and even cooperate with these service robots, their design and development demand ethical attention. With this in mind I suggest the use of an approach for incorporating ethics into the design process of robots known as Care Centered Value Sensitive Design (CCVSD). Although this approach was originally and intentionally designed for the healthcare domain, the aim of this paper is to present a preliminary study of how personal and professional service robots might also be evaluated using the CCVSD approach. The normative foundations for CCVSD come from its reliance on the care ethics tradition and in particular the use of care practices for: (1) structuring the analysis and, (2) determining the values of ethical import. To apply CCVSD outside of healthcare one must show that the robot has been integrated into a care practice. Accordingly, the practice into which the robot is to be used must be assessed and shown to meet the conditions of a care practice. By investigating the foundations of the approach I hope to show why it may be applicable for service robots and further to give examples of current robot prototypes that can and cannot be evaluated using CCVSD.},
keywords = {applied ethics, artificial intelligence, care ethics, robot ethics, service robots, value sensitive design, value:health},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
It should not be a surprise in the near future to encounter either a personal or a professional service robot in our homes and/or our work places: according to the International Federation for Robots, there will be approx 35 million service robots at work by 2018. Given that individuals will interact and even cooperate with these service robots, their design and development demand ethical attention. With this in mind I suggest the use of an approach for incorporating ethics into the design process of robots known as Care Centered Value Sensitive Design (CCVSD). Although this approach was originally and intentionally designed for the healthcare domain, the aim of this paper is to present a preliminary study of how personal and professional service robots might also be evaluated using the CCVSD approach. The normative foundations for CCVSD come from its reliance on the care ethics tradition and in particular the use of care practices for: (1) structuring the analysis and, (2) determining the values of ethical import. To apply CCVSD outside of healthcare one must show that the robot has been integrated into a care practice. Accordingly, the practice into which the robot is to be used must be assessed and shown to meet the conditions of a care practice. By investigating the foundations of the approach I hope to show why it may be applicable for service robots and further to give examples of current robot prototypes that can and cannot be evaluated using CCVSD.