Just an artifact: why machines are perceived as moral agents

Joanna J Bryson; Philip P Kime

doi:10.5591/978-1-57735-516-8/IJCAI11-276

Just an artifact: why machines are perceived as moral agents

Joanna J Bryson, Philip P Kime

Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Book chapter

36 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

How obliged can we be to AI, and how much danger does it pose us? A surprising proportion of our society holds exaggerated fears or hopes for AI, such as the fear of robot world conquest, or the hope that AI will indefinitely perpetuate our cul- ture. These misapprehensions are symptomatic of a larger problem—a confusion about the nature and origins of ethics and its role in society. While AI technologies do pose promises and threats, these are not qualitatively different from those posed by other artifacts of our culture which are largely ignored: from factories to advertising, weapons to political systems. Ethical systems are based on notions of identity, and the exaggerated hopes and fears of AI derive from our cultures having not yet accommodated the fact that language and reasoning are no longer uniquely human. The experience of AI may improve our ethical intuitions and self-understanding, potentially helping our societies make better-informed decisions on serious ethical dilemmas.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the Twenty-Second International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence
Subtitle of host publication	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, 16–22 July 2011
Editors	Toby Walsh
Place of Publication	Menlo Park, CA, USA
Publisher	AAAI Press
Pages	1641-1646
Number of pages	6
Volume	2
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-57735-516-8
ISBN (Print)	978-1-57735-514-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5591/978-1-57735-516-8/IJCAI11-276
Publication status	Published - 2011
Event	22nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence - Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Duration: 16 Jul 2011 → 22 Jul 2011

Conference

Conference	22nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence
Abbreviated title	IJCAI-11
Country/Territory	Spain
City	Barcelona, Catalonia
Period	16/07/11 → 22/07/11

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10.5591/978-1-57735-516-8/IJCAI11-276

Cite this

Just an artifact: why machines are perceived as moral agents. / Bryson, Joanna J; Kime, Philip P.
Proceedings of the Twenty-Second International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, 16–22 July 2011. ed. / Toby Walsh. Vol. 2 Menlo Park, CA, USA: AAAI Press, 2011. p. 1641-1646.

Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Book chapter

Bryson, JJ & Kime, PP 2011, Just an artifact: why machines are perceived as moral agents. in T Walsh (ed.), Proceedings of the Twenty-Second International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, 16–22 July 2011. vol. 2, AAAI Press, Menlo Park, CA, USA, pp. 1641-1646, 22nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, 16/07/11. https://doi.org/10.5591/978-1-57735-516-8/IJCAI11-276

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Just an artifact: why machines are perceived as moral agents

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