Robot Ethics Don Howard Department of Philosophy and Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values University of Notre Dame Digital Week University of Notre Dame September 22, 2015 Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Introduction Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Robot Revolution The robotics and AI revolution is already well underway, and it will reshape our lives far more dramatically than even the internet/information revolution. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Robot Revolution The robotics and AI revolution is already well underway, and it will reshape our lives far more dramatically than even the internet/information revolution. The steady replacement of human by machine labor. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Robot Revolution The robotics and AI revolution is already well underway, and it will reshape our lives far more dramatically than even the internet/information revolution. The steady replacement of human by machine labor. Autonomous warfare. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Robot Revolution The robotics and AI revolution is already well underway, and it will reshape our lives far more dramatically than even the internet/information revolution. The steady replacement of human by machine labor. Autonomous warfare. Patient care robots. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Robot Revolution The robotics and AI revolution is already well underway, and it will reshape our lives far more dramatically than even the internet/information revolution. The steady replacement of human by machine labor. Autonomous warfare. Patient care robots. Self-driving cars. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Robot Revolution As with all such trans ormations, there will be ethical gains and ethical challenges. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Robot Revolution As with all such transformations, there will be ethical gains and ethical challenges. It is imperative that we be aware of and respond to both. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Conceptual Preliminaries Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? Not all robots have humanoid features. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? Not all robots have humanoid features. This is a robot. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? Not all robots have humanoid features. And this is a robot, too. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? SENSE - THINK - ACT That is a widely accepted definition of a robot, a system that can perceive information, process that information, and take action based upon the processing of that information. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? SENSE - THINK - ACT But . Must “sensing” involve only vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell? Or does any input quailfy? Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? SENSE - THINK - ACT But . Must “sensing” involve only vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell? Or does any input quailfy? Must “acting” involve only setting matter in motion? Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? SENSE - THINK - ACT But . Must “sensing” involve only vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell? Or does any input quailfy? Must “acting” involve only setting matter in motion? And will any processing suffice for “thinking,” or must some form of higher machine intelligence be involved? Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Is A Robot? SENSE - THINK - ACT Is your Android phone a robot? Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Precautionary Principle We made big mistakes in the past, as with a hydrocarbon fuels economy that now drives global climate warming. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Precautionary Principle We made big mistakes in the past, as with a hydrocarbon fuels economy that now drives global climate warming. Or a post-WWII synthetic petrochemical industry, by-products of which poison our environment and our own bodies. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Precautionary Principle “Proceed with caution” should be our motto, and we must make the effort to anticipate all, possibly harmful, downstream conseuqences of the introduction of any new technology. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 The Precautionary Principle “Proceed with caution” should be our motto, and we must make the effort to anticipate all, possibly harmful, downstream conseuqences of the introduction of any new technology. But we cannot let uncertainty and fear throttle technological innovation. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Ethics Is Not Just Saying, “No.” It is the responsibility of the ethicist to sound the alarm when inattention or unconcern are leading us to disaster. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Ethics Is Not Just Saying, “No.” It is the responsibility of the ethicist to sound the alarm when inattention or unconcern are leading us to disaster. But it is an equal obligation of the ethicist to help us find those perhaps not yet recognized opportunities where new technologies can better the human condition and to help us think through the needed transition. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 And We Can’t Just Leave Ethics to the Ethicist In the best of all possible worlds, an engagement with ethics should be part of the work-a-day routine of the scientist and the engineer. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Whatever You Do, Don’t Turn to Hollywood for Advice The robot apocalypse is not upon us, nor will any such catastrophe likely befall humankind. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Specific Areas of Concern and Promise Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons Three years ago, Human Rights Watch issued a call for a global ban on autonomous weapons systems. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons Three years ago, Human Rights Watch issued a call for a global ban on autonomous weapons systems. They argued that morality requires emotions, that machines cannot, in principle, experience emotion, and that, therefore, autonomous weapons are fundamentally immoral. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons Three years ago, Human Rights Watch issued a call for a global ban on autonomous weapons systems. They argued that morality requires emotions, that machines cannot, in principle, experience emotion, and that, therefore, autonomous weapons are fundamentally immoral. They argued also that robot weapons would, in principle, be incapable of respecting the international law of armed conflict (ILOAC) and international humanitarian law (IHL), because they could not do such things as distinguish combatants from non- combatants, as required by ILOAC. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons Proponents of autonomous weapons argue that robot combatants can be more moral than human combatants, because they never feel fatigue, fear, anger, or despair, and they can be programmed not to fire in uncertain circumstances where self- preservation forces a human combatant to fire. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons Proponents of autonomous weapons argue that robot combatants can be more moral than human combatants, because they never feel fatigue, fear, anger, or despair, and they can be programmed not to fire in uncertain circumstances where self- preservation forces a human combatant to fire. Moreover, they argue that greater accuracy, better situational awareness, superior speed of processing information, and absolutely strict adherence to ILOAC will mean fewer war crimes and reduced collateral casualties. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons Proponents of autonomous weapons argue that robot combatants can be more moral than human combatants, because they never feel fatigue, fear, anger, or despair, and they can be programmed not to fire in uncertain circumstances where self- preservation forces a human combatant to fire. Moreover, they argue that greater accuracy, better situational awareness, superior speed of processing information, and absolutely strict adherence to ILOAC will mean fewer war crimes and reduced collateral casualties. And replacing human combatants with robots will save the lives of many of our own military personnel. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons The argument is not merely an academic one, nor one only about future developments, because fully autonomous weapons systems have already been deployed for a considerable time. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons In July, the Future of Life Institute renewed the call for a ban, but this time only on offensive autonomous weapons, the appeal signed by thousands, including the likes of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Autonomous Weapons In July, the Future of Life Institute renewed the call for a ban, but this time only on offensive autonomous weapons, the appeal signed by thousands, including the likes of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking. Now the emphasis is on the argument that, if we don’t ban such systems now, we will soon find ourselves in a global, autonomous weapons arms race that will spiral out of control. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 What Do You Think? Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Replacement of Human by Machine Labor Industrial robots long ago began discplacing human labor. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Replacement of Human by Machine Labor Industrial robots long ago began discplacing human labor. Now they are moving into the service sector of the economy. Robot Ethics, ND Digital Week, September 22, 2015 Replacement of Human by Machine Labor Industrial robots long ago began discplacing human labor. Now they are moving into the service sector of the economy.