MIT Press (2012)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
One of the enduring concerns of moral philosophy is deciding who or what is deserving of ethical consideration. Much recent attention has been devoted to the "animal question" -- consideration of the moral status of nonhuman animals. In this book, David Gunkel takes up the "machine question": whether and to what extent intelligent and autonomous machines of our own making can be considered to have legitimate moral responsibilities and any legitimate claim to moral consideration. The machine question poses a fundamental challenge to moral thinking, questioning the traditional philosophical conceptualization of technology as a tool or instrument to be used by human agents. Gunkel begins by addressing the question of machine moral agency: whether a machine might be considered a legitimate moral agent that could be held responsible for decisions and actions. He then approaches the machine question from the other side, considering whether a machine might be a moral patient due legitimate moral consideration. Finally, Gunkel considers some recent innovations in moral philosophy and critical theory that complicate the machine question, deconstructing the binary agent--patient opposition itself. Technological advances may prompt us to wonder if the science fiction of computers and robots whose actions affect their human companions could become science fact. Gunkel's argument promises to influence future considerations of ethics, ourselves, and the other entities who inhabit this world.
|
Keywords | Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Technology & Engineering / Robotics |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Buy this book | $22.95 new (24% off) Amazon page |
ISBN(s) | 9780262017435 9780262534635 0262534630 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
Will Life Be Worth Living in a World Without Work? Technological Unemployment and the Meaning of Life.John Danaher - 2017 - Science and Engineering Ethics 23 (1):41-64.
Mind the Gap: Responsible Robotics and the Problem of Responsibility.David J. Gunkel - 2020 - Ethics and Information Technology 22 (4):307-320.
Moral Zombies: Why Algorithms Are Not Moral Agents.Carissa Véliz - forthcoming - AI and Society:1-11.
The Other Question: Can and Should Robots Have Rights?David J. Gunkel - 2018 - Ethics and Information Technology 20 (2):87-99.
Robots, Law and the Retribution Gap.John Danaher - 2016 - Ethics and Information Technology 18 (4):299–309.
View all 76 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
David J. Gunkel: The Machine Question: Critical Perspectives on AI, Robots, and Ethics: MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2012, 272 Pp, ISBN-10: 0-262-01743-1, ISBN-13: 978-0-262-01743-5. [REVIEW]Mark Coeckelbergh - 2013 - Ethics and Information Technology 15 (3):235-238.
The Machine Question: Critical Perspectives on AI, Robots, and Ethics. By David J. Gunkel.Dominika Dzwonkowska - 2013 - International Philosophical Quarterly 53 (1):91-93.
Review of "The Machine Question: Critical Perspectives on AI, Robots, and Ethics". [REVIEW]Peter H. Denton - 2014 - Essays in Philosophy 15 (1):179-183.
There is No 'I' in 'Robot': Robots and Utilitarianism (Expanded & Revised).Christopher Grau - 2011 - In Susan Anderson & Michael Anderson (eds.), Machine Ethics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 451.
The Morality of Autonomous Robots.Aaron M. Johnson & Sidney Axinn - 2013 - Journal of Military Ethics 12 (2):129 - 141.
A Vindication of the Rights of Machines.David J. Gunkel - 2014 - Philosophy and Technology 27 (1):113-132.
When Our Mobile Robots Are Free-Ranging Critters, How Ought They to Behave? What Should Their Top-Level Instructions Look Like? The Best Known Prescription for Mobile Robots is the Three Laws of Robotics Formulated by Isaac Asimov (1942): 1. A Robot May Not Injure a Human Being, or Through Inaction, Allow a Human. [REVIEW]James Gips - 2011 - In M. Anderson S. Anderson (ed.), Machine Ethics. Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 244.
Architectures and Ethics for Robots Constraint Satisfaction as a Unitary Design Framework.Alan K. Mackworth - 2011 - In M. Anderson S. Anderson (ed.), Machine Ethics. Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 30--1.
On the Moral Responsibility of Military Robots.Thomas Hellström - 2013 - Ethics and Information Technology 15 (2):99-107.
Framing Robot Arms Control.Wendell Wallach & Colin Allen - 2013 - Ethics and Information Technology 15 (2):125-135.
Implementing Moral Decision Making Faculties in Computers and Robots.Wendell Wallach - 2008 - AI and Society 22 (4):463-475.
Social Robots-Emotional Agents: Some Remarks on Naturalizing Man-Machine Interaction.Barbara Becker - 2006 - International Review of Information Ethics 6:37-45.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2014-02-06
Total views
168 ( #68,684 of 2,498,399 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
19 ( #44,448 of 2,498,399 )
2014-02-06
Total views
168 ( #68,684 of 2,498,399 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
19 ( #44,448 of 2,498,399 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads