Jump to content

Could robots ever be truly capable of making ethical decisions?


Recommended Posts

Until 10 minutes ago, I would have opined: probably not. However, having read this article, I am no longer certain. So, given that human beings themselves possess differing views on what to base ethical principles and on how those principles should be applied, could robots be programmed to make moral decisions?






Incidentally, it is the antics of a (now banned) forumite that have given rise to this cogitation!

waynetta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What robot has been banned from the forum?


*huge weary sigh*


No robot has been banned...


I should, ideally, delete that last line (it's merely an aside), but then your post would look most peculiar waynetta...


*further sigh*

  • 3 weeks later...

A very lifelike - in a Madame Tussauds kind of way - mannequin controlled by someone in the wings so not exactly capable of independent thought or action.


Edited to muse: "Of course, on the internet the absence of tone of voice and body language mean that the subtleties that suggest a gently ironic response may not be conveyed effectively or at all in some cases."


*Thinks* "Some posters use descriptive asides, internet acronyms and smileys to indicate tone of voice and contextualising actions but I tend to find that a bit awkward."


Edited to add: Was thinking but didn't say that, in relation to the OP, I was thinking that as the lifelike robot in the play, it is merely an extension of the human. In this case it's in actions but re the questions of robots being capable of ethical decisions, well they are too complex to be programmed in a simple logcial way and even then they would be extensions or expressions of human ethical decision making processes but just more limited.


Edited to say: *Thinks* "If this was a work email I'd be signing off: 'Hope that helps.'"

Pretty too!


But it's one thing being able to act, sing, dance, chat and what have you. Possessing emotions, knowing right from wrong, being able to reason (as we do) etc. is quite another. Could a machine therefore ever be equipped with the technology to make ethical decisions in the way that we do?

Ladymuck Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Could a machine therefore ever be equipped with the technology to make ethical decisions in the way that we do?



That depends... can we formalise ethics as a set of logical rules? I think we probably can.


But why would we want to do that?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Every year they ask for more and every year it is an exhausting process pushing back on that for local residents and councillors. What annoys me is that at the post event consultation/ feedback this year, I specifically asked them if the rumours around applying for two weekends next year were true. They told me no. So that was a lie. Anyway, we go again. 
    • Double In New or great condition  Or super comfortable air bed Any1 pls
    • Rant ahead: You're not one of them but unfortunately, there's a substrate of posters here that do very little except moan and come up with weird conspiracy theories. They're immediately highly critical of just about any change, and their initial assumption is that everyone else is a total fucking contemptible idiot. For example: don't you think that the people who run the libraries will have considered the impact of timing of reconstruction on library users? (In fact, we know they have - because they've made arrangements at other libraries to attempt to mitigate the disruption). After all, these are the people that spend their whole working week thinking about libraries and dealing with library users (and the kids especially). You don't go into the library game for the chicks and fame - so it's fair to assume that librarians are committed to public service and public access to libraries, including by kids. Likewise the built environment people (engineers, architects, construction managers, project managers, construction contractors, subcontractors or whoever is on this job) are told to minimise disruption on every job they do. The thing that occurs to us as amateurs within 30 seconds of us seeing something is probably not something a full time professional hasn't thought about! Southwark Council, the NHS, TfL, Dulwich Estate, Thames Water, Openreach - they're not SPECTRE factories filled with malevolent chaosmongers trying to persecute anyone. They're mostly filled with people who understand their job and try to do their best with what they've been given - just like all of us. Nobody is perfect or immune from challenge, and that's fair enough, but why not at least start from the assumption that there's a good reason why things have been done the way they have? Any normal person would be pleased that their busy, pretty, lively local library is getting refurbished, and will have more space and facilities for kids and teens, and will be more efficient to run and warmer in winter. But no, EDT_Forumite_752 had kids who did an exam 20 years ago, and this makes them an expert on library refurbishment who can see it's all just stuff and nonsense for the green agenda and why can't it all be put off... 😡😡😡
    • I completely misread the previous post, sorry. For some reason I thought the mini cooper was also a police vehicle, DUH.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...