The Ethics of Machine Ethics

It’s important to consider the ethical implications associated with this new field of study. Though Machine Ethics considers the ethics relating to how a machine might make ethical decisions, the system in of itself, has ethical ramifications. This chapter aims to consider seven of the main ethical issues. First; whether artificial moral agents are safe is considered, by discussing some previous arguments against Machine Ethics and whether bestowing machines with morals puts humanity at even more risk. Then, Machine Patiency or Robot Rights is discussed—if robots have their own agency, should they have rights? Then, there is consideration about whether such robots are sustainable, before broader ethical implications (an ethical impact assessment for moral machines) are outlined. Finally, new security implications associated with the approach to building moral machines is discussed, before the idea of robot psychology is introduced.