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Machine Ethics: Creating an Ethical Intelligent Agent

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Machine Ethics: Creating an Ethical Intelligent Agent AI Magazine Volume 28 Number 4 (2007) (© AAAI) Articles Machine Ethics: Creating an Ethical Intelligent Agent Michael Anderson and Susan Leigh Anderson ■ The newly emerging field of machine ethics using ethical principles. It can “represent ethics (Anderson and Anderson 2006) is concerned explicitly and then operate effectively on the with adding an ethical dimension to machines. basis of this knowledge.” Using Moor’s termi- Unlike computer ethics—which has traditional- nology, most of those working on machine ly focused on ethical issues surrounding ethics would say that the ultimate goal is to humans’ use of machines—machine ethics is concerned with ensuring that the behavior of create a machine that is an explicit ethical machines toward human users, and perhaps agent. other machines as well, is ethically acceptable. We are, here, primarily concerned with the In this article we discuss the importance of ethical decision making itself, rather than how machine ethics, the need for machines that rep- a machine would gather the information need- resent ethical principles explicitly, and the chal- ed to make the decision and incorporate it into lenges facing those working on machine ethics. its general behavior. It is important to see this We also give an example of current research in as a separate and considerable challenge. It is the field that shows that it is possible, at least in separate because having all the information a limited domain, for a machine to abstract an ethical principle from examples of correct ethi- and facility in the world won’t, by itself, gen- cal judgments and use that principle to guide its erate ethical behavior in a machine. One needs own behavior. to turn to the branch of philosophy that is con- cerned with ethics for insight into what is con- sidered to be ethically acceptable behavior. It is a considerable challenge because, even among he ultimate goal of machine ethics, we experts, ethics has not been completely codi- believe, is to create a machine that itself fied. It is a field that is still evolving. We shall Tfollows an ideal ethical principle or set of argue that one of the advantages of working on principles; that is to say, it is guided by this machine ethics is that it might lead to break- principle or these principles in decisions it throughs in ethical theory, since machines are makes about possible courses of action it could well-suited for testing the results of consistent- take. We need to make a distinction between ly following a particular ethical theory. what James Moor has called an “implicit ethical One other point should be made in intro- agent” and an “explicit ethical agent” (Moor ducing the subject of machine ethics. Ethics 2006). According to Moor, a machine that is an can be seen as both easy and hard. It appears implicit ethical agent is one that has been pro- easy because we all make ethical decisions on a grammed to behave ethically, or at least avoid daily basis. But that doesn’t mean that we are unethical behavior, without an explicit repre- all experts in ethics. It is a field that requires sentation of ethical principles. It is constrained much study and experience. AI researchers in its behavior by its designer who is following must have respect for the expertise of ethicists ethical principles. A machine that is an explic- just as ethicists must appreciate the expertise of it ethical agent, on the other hand, is able to AI researchers. Machine ethics is an inherently calculate the best action in ethical dilemmas interdisciplinary field. Copyright © 2007, American Association for Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved. ISSN 0738-4602 WINTER 2007 15 Articles The Importance of behave when faced with ethical dilemmas. Despite the obvious applied nature of the field Machine Ethics of ethics, too often work in ethical theory is Why is the field of machine ethics important? done with little thought to actual application. There are at least three reasons that can be giv- When examples are discussed, they are typical- en. First, there are ethical ramifications to what ly artificial examples. Research in machine machines currently do and are projected to do ethics has the potential to discover problems in the future. To neglect this aspect of machine with current theories, perhaps even leading to behavior could have serious repercussions. the development of better theories, as AI South Korea has recently mustered more than researchers force scrutiny of the details 30 companies and 1000 scientists to the end of involved in actually applying an ethical theory putting “a robot in every home by 2010” to particular cases. As Daniel Dennett (2006) (Onishi 2006). DARPA’s grand challenge to recently stated, AI “makes philosophy honest.” have a vehicle drive itself across 132 miles of Ethics must be made computable in order to desert terrain has been met, and a new grand make it clear exactly how agents ought to challenge is in the works that will have vehi- behave in ethical dilemmas. cles maneuvering in an urban setting. The An exception to the general rule that ethi- United States Army’s Future Combat Systems cists don’t spend enough time discussing actu- program is developing armed robotic vehicles al cases occurs in the field of biomedical ethics, that will support ground troops with “direct- a field that has arisen out of a need to resolve fire” and antitank weapons. From family cars pressing problems faced by health-care work- that drive themselves and machines that dis- ers, insurers, hospital ethics boards, and bio- charge our daily chores with little or no assis- medical researchers. As a result of there having tance from us, to fully autonomous robotic been more discussion of actual cases in the entities that will begin to challenge our field of biomedical ethics, a consensus is begin- notions of the very nature of intelligence, it is ning to emerge as to how to evaluate ethical clear that machines such as these will be capa- dilemmas in this domain, leading to the ethi- ble of causing harm to human beings unless cally correct action in many dilemmas. A rea- this is prevented by adding an ethical compo- son there might be more of a consensus in this nent to them. domain than in others is that in the area of bio- Second, it could be argued that humans’ fear medical ethics there is an ethically defensible of the possibility of autonomous intelligent goal (the best possible health of the patient), machines stems from their concern about whereas in other areas (such as business and whether these machines will behave ethically, law) the goal may not be ethically defensible so the future of AI may be at stake. Whether (make as much money as possible, serve the society allows AI researchers to develop any- client’s interest even if he or she is guilty of an thing like autonomous intelligent machines offense or doesn’t deserve a settlement) and may hinge on whether they are able to build in ethics enters the picture as a limiting factor safeguards against unethical behavior. From (the goal must be achieved within certain eth- the murderous robot uprising in the 1920 play ical boundaries). R.U.R. (Capek 1921) and the deadly coup d’état AI researchers working with ethicists might perpetrated by the HAL 9000 computer in find it helpful to begin with this domain, dis- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Clarke 1968), to The covering a general approach to computing Matrix virtual reality simulation for the pacifi- ethics that not only works in this domain, but cation and subjugation of human beings by could be applied to other domains as well. machines, popular culture is rife with images of machines devoid of any ethical code mistreat- Explicit Ethical Machines ing their makers. In his widely circulated trea- tise, “Why the future doesn’t need us,” Bill Joy It does seem clear, to those who have thought (2000) argues that the only antidote to such about the issue, that some sort of safeguard fates and worse is to “relinquish dangerous should be in place to prevent unethical machine technologies.” We believe that machine ethics behavior (and that work in this area may pro- research may offer a viable, more realistic solu- vide benefits for the study of ethical theory as tion. well). This shows the need for creating at least Finally, we believe that it’s possible that implicit ethical machines; but why must we cre- research in machine ethics will advance the ate explicit ethical machines, which would seem study of ethical theory. Ethics, by its very to be a much greater (perhaps even an impossi- nature, is the most practical branch of philoso- ble) challenge for AI researchers? Furthermore, phy. It is concerned with how agents ought to many fear handing over the job of ethical over- 16 AI MAGAZINE Articles seer to machines themselves. How could we feel they are necessary to discern morally relevant confident that a machine would make the right differences in similar cases. decision in situations that were not anticipated? The concern that machines that start out Finally, what if the machine starts out behaving behaving ethically will end up behaving in an ethical fashion but then morphs into one unethically, perhaps favoring their own inter- that decides to behave unethically in order to ests, may stem from fears derived from legiti- secure advantages for itself? mate concerns about human behavior. Most On the need for explicit, rather than just human beings are far from ideal models of eth- implicit, ethical machines: What is critical in ical agents, despite having been taught ethical the “explicit ethical agent” versus “implicit principles; and humans do, in particular, tend ethical agent” distinction, in our view, lies not to favor themselves.
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