Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong by Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen

[Philosophy Now]

Tony Beavers considers a timely understanding of machine ethics.

https://philosophynow.org/issues/71/Mor ... olin_Allen

[Impenitent]

before you program machine ethics, you have to give machines free will...

-Imp

[shortyguy]

before you program machine ethics, you have to give machines free will...

Are you sure about that?
That would imply that humans have a free will, which is debatable.
Or would you say that it is also debatable that humans have ethics?

I am not trying to argue that humans have no free will hence no ethics, but i am wondering if an agreement on certain moral decisions can be made even if we are not able to know for sure if we or machines are going to follow them or not.

[Impenitent]

before you program machine ethics, you have to give machines free will...

Are you sure about that?
That would imply that humans have a free will, which is debatable.
Or would you say that it is also debatable that humans have ethics?

I am not trying to argue that humans have no free will hence no ethics, but i am wondering if an agreement on certain moral decisions can be made even if we are not able to know for sure if we or machines are going to follow them or not.

if they cannot make the choice, the ethical question is moot

-Imp