Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Moral Enhancement and Artificial Intelligence: Moral AI?

  • Chapter
Beyond Artificial Intelligence

Part of the book series: Topics in Intelligent Engineering and Informatics ((TIEI,volume 9))

Abstract

This chapter explores the possibility of moral artificial intelligence – what it might look like and what it might achieve. Against the backdrop of the enduring limitations of human moral psychology and the pressing challenges inherent in a globalised world, we argue that an AI that could monitor, prompt and advise on moral behaviour could help human agents overcome some of their inherent limitations. Such an AI could monitor physical and environmental factors that affect moral decision-making, could identify and make agents aware of their biases, and could advise agents on the right course of action, based on the agent’s moral values. A common objection to the concept of moral enhancement is that, since a single account of right action cannot be agreed upon, the project of moral enhancement is doomed to failure. We argue that insofar as this is a problem, it is a problem for some biomedical interventions, but an agent-tailored moral AI would not only preserve pluralism of moral values but would also enhance the agent’s autonomy by helping him to overcome his natural psychological limitations. In this way moral AI has one advantage over other forms of biomedical moral enhancement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Douglas, T.: Moral enhancement. Journal of Applied Philosophy 25(3), 228–245 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Douglas, T.: Moral enhancement via direct modulation: A reply to John Harris. Bioethics 27(3), 160–168 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Harris, J.: Moral enhancement and freedom. Bioethics 25(3), 102–111 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Terbeck, S., Kahane, G., McTavish, S., Savulescu, J., Cowen, P.J., Hewstone, M.: Propranolol reduces implicit negative racial bias. Psychopharmacology 222(3), 419–424 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Richerson, P.J., Boyd, R.: Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution. University of Chicago Press (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Maynard Smith, J., Szathmáry, E.: The Major Transitions in Evolution. Oxford University Press (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Williams, G.C.: Adaptation and natural selection: A critique of some current evolutionary thought. Princeton University Press (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hamilton, W.D.: The evolution of altruistic behaviour. American Naturalist 97(896), 354–356 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Reeder, G.D., Brewer, M.B.: A schematic model of dispositional attribution in interpersonal perception. Psychological Review 86(1), 61–79 (1979)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Taylor, S.E.: Asymmetrical effects of positive and negative events: The mobilization-minimization hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin 110(1), 67–85 (1991)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Alexander, R.D.: The Biology of Moral Systems. De Gruyter, Hawthorne (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  12. van Vugt, M., Hart, C.M.: Social identity as social glue: the origins of group loyalty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 86(4), 585–598 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kunda, Z.: The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological Bulletin 108(3), 480–498 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Persson, I., Savulescu, J.: Unfit for the Future? The Need for Moral Enhancement. Oxford University Press (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Persson, I., Savulescu, J.: The perils of cognitive enhancement and the urgent imperative to enhance the moral character of humanity. Journal of Applied Philosophy 25(3), 162–177 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Terbeck, S., Kahane, G., McTavish, S., Savulescu, J., Levy, N., Hewstone, M., Cowen, P.J.: Beta adrenergic blockade reduces utilitarian judgement. Biological Psychology 92(2), 323–328 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Sitaram, R., Caria, A., Veit, R., Gaber, T., Rota, G., Kuebler, A., Birbaumer, N.: fMRI brain-computer interface: A tool for neuroscientific research and treatment. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 1:1–1:10 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Sitaram, R., Caria, A., Birbaumer, N.: Hemodynamic brain-computer interfaces for communication and rehabilitation. Neural Networks 22(9), 1320–1328 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Caria, A., Sitaram, R., Veit, R., Begliomini, C., Birbaumer, N.: Volitional control of anterior insula activity modulates the response to aversive stimuli. A real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Biological Psychiatry 68(5), 425–432 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Cohen Kadosh, R., Soskic, S., Iuculano, T., Kanai, R., Walsh, V.: Modulating neuronal activity produces specific and long-lasting changes in numerical competence. Current Biology 20(22), 2016–2020 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Carter, A., Hall, W., Nutt, D.: The treatment of addiction. In: Carter, A., Capps, B., Hall, W. (eds.) Addiction Neurobiology: Ethical and Social Implications, pp. 29–50 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Insel, T.R., Fernald, R.D.: How the brain processes social information: Searching for the social brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience 27, 697–722 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P., Fischbacher, U., Fehr, E.: Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature 435, 673–676 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. De Dreu, C.K.W., Greer, L.L., Handgraaf, M.J.J., Shalvi, S., Van Kleef, G.A., Baas, M., Ten Velden, F.S., Van Dijk, E., Feith, S.W.W.: The neuropeptide oxytocin regulates parochial altruism in intergroup conflict among humans. Science 328(5984), 1408–1411 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. De Dreu, C.K.W., Greer, L.L., Van Kleef, G.A., Shalvi, S., Handgraaf, M.J.J.: Oxytocin promotes human ethnocentrism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(4), 1262–1266 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Tse, W.S., Bond, A.J.: Serotonergic intervention affects both social dominance and affiliative behaviour. Psychopharmacology 161(3), 324–330 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Wood, R.M., Rilling, J.K., Sanfey, A.G., Bhagwagar, Z., Rogers, R.D.: Effects of tryptophan depletion on the performance of an iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma game in healthy adults. Neuropsychopharmacology 31(5), 1075–1084 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Crockett, M.J., Clark, L., Tabibnia, G., Lieberman, M., Robbins, T.W.: Serotonin modulates behavioral reactions to unfairness. Science 320(5884), 1739 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Lichtenstein, P., Halldner, L., Zetterqvist, J., Sjölander, A., Serlachius, E., Fazel, S., Långström, N., Larsson, H.: Medication for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and criminality. New England Journal of Medicine 367(21), 2006–2014 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Levy, N., Douglas, T., Kahane, G., Terbeck, S., Cowen, P., Hewstone, M., Savulescu, J.: Are you morally modified? the moral effects of widely used pharmaceuticals. Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology (forthcoming)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Charalampidou, M., Mouroutsos, S., Pavlidis, G.: Identifying aspects of ambient intelligence through a review of recent developments. Journal of Advanced Computer Science & Technology 1(3), 82–100 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Savulescu, J., Persson, I.: Moral enhancement, freedom and the God machine. The Monist 95(3), 399–421 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Olsen, O.K., Pallesen, S., Eid, J.: The impact of partial sleep deprivation on moral reasoning in military officers. Sleep 33(8), 1086–1090 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Danziger, S., Levav, J., Avnaim-Pesso, L.: Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(17), 6889–6892 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Zillmann, D.: Cognition-excitation interdependencies in aggressive behavior. Aggressive Behavior 14(1), 51–64 (1988)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Reisenzein, R., Gattinger, E.: Salience of arousal as a mediator of misattribution of transferred excitation. Motivation and Emotion 6(4), 315–328 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Baumeister, R.F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., Tice, D.M.: Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74(5), 1252–1265 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Baumeister, R.F.: Ego depletion and self-control failure: An energy model of the self’s executive function. Self and Identity 1(2), 129–136 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Montoya, E.R., Terburg, D., Bos, P.A., Will, G.J., Buskens, V., Raub, W., van Honk, J.: Testosterone administration modulates moral judgments depending on second-to-fourth digit ratio. Psychoneuroendocrinology (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Boyer, E.W., Fletcher, R., Fay, R.J., Smelson, D., Ziedonis, D., Picard, R.W.: Preliminary efforts directed toward the detection of craving of illicit substances: The iHeal project. Journal of Medical Toxicology 8(1), 5–9 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Anderson, C.A., Deuser, W.E., De Neve, K.M.: Hot temperatures, hostile affect, hostile cognition, and arousal: Tests of a general model of affective aggression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21(5), 434–448 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Berkowitz, L.: Frustration-aggression hypothesis: Examination and reformulation. Psychological Bulletin 106(1), 59–73 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Berkowitz, L.: On the formation and regulation of anger and aggression: A cognitive-neoassociationistic analysis. American Psychologist 45(4), 494–503 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Berkowitz, L.: Pain and aggression: Some findings and implications. Motivation and Emotion 17(3), 277–293 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Sitton, S.: The messy desk effect: How tidiness affects the perception of others. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied 117(2), 263–267 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Wark, G.R., Krebs, D.L.: Sources of variation in moral judgment: Toward a model of real-life morality. Journal of Adult Development 4(3), 163–178 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Davidson, J.W., Edgar, R.: Gender and race bias in the judgement of Western art music performance. Music Education Research 5(2), 169–181 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Pontier, M.A., Hoorn, J.F.: Toward machines that behave ethically better than humans do. In: Proceedings of of the 34th International Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Austin, TX, pp. 2198–2203 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Sutrop, M., Laas-Mikko, K.: From identity verification to behavior prediction: Ethical implications of second generation biometrics. Review of Policy Research 29(1), 21–36 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Ekman, P., Friesen, W.: Facial Action Coding System: A Technique for the Measurement of Facial Movement. Consulting Psychologists Press (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  51. Santoni de Sio, F., Maslen, H., Faulmüller, N.: The necessity of objective standards for moral enhancement. AJOB Neuroscience 3(4), 15–16 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Julian Savulescu & Hannah Maslen

Authors
  1. Julian Savulescu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hannah Maslen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julian Savulescu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. New Technologies Research Centre & Department of Cybernetics, University of West Bohemia, Plzen, Czech Republic

    Jan Romportl

  2. New Technologies Research Centre, University of West Bohemia, Plzen, Czech Republic

    Eva Zackova

  3. Institute of Computer Science, Silesian University, Opava, Czech Republic

    Jozef Kelemen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Savulescu, J., Maslen, H. (2015). Moral Enhancement and Artificial Intelligence: Moral AI?. In: Romportl, J., Zackova, E., Kelemen, J. (eds) Beyond Artificial Intelligence. Topics in Intelligent Engineering and Informatics, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09668-1_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09668-1_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-09667-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-09668-1

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation