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The Business of Ethics, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence

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Cyborg Futures

Part of the book series: Social and Cultural Studies of Robots and AI ((SOCUSRA))

Abstract

This chapter explores the rise of ethics as the discipline to address issues in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). But why single out the discipline of “ethics”? I show how ethics is not a homogeneous, or unitary, body of knowledge, and that we have to pay attention to narratives in ethics that reproduce class and sex biases. In this sense, I focus on the theme of corporate and academic interest in the ethics of robots and AI, which, as I argue, is motivated by a metaphysical project to redefine the human as equivalent to a machine (robot) and to algorithmic programs (AI). I argue that the rejection of humans as distinct from machines represents the failure of mainstream philosophy to assimilate perspectives of class and sex into ethics as a body of knowledge that is capable of solving human crises. Rather than see ethics as neutral, I show a connection between corporate interest in ethics of robots and AI on the one hand, and the redefinition of the human on the other. I propose we should question ethical paradigms and ensure that feminist and class analyses are integrated into contemporary narratives of ethics of robots and AI.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct” (published July 2018), https://www.acm.org/code-of-ethics. Accessed 27.7.28.

  2. 2.

    IEEE “Ethically Aligned Designed: A Vision Prioritizing Human Well-Being with Autonomous and Intelligent Systems,” https://standards.ieee.org/develop/indconn/ec/autonomous_systems.html. Accessed 27.7.18.

  3. 3.

    Future of Life Institute, https://futureoflife.org/, – funding received from billionaire Elon Musk among others.

  4. 4.

    Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/

  5. 5.

    Campaign Against Sex Robots, https://campaignagainstsexrobots.org/

  6. 6.

    Development of Robot-Enhanced Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, https://www.dream2020.eu/

  7. 7.

    Responsible Ethical Learning in Robotics (REELER), http://reeler.eu/

  8. 8.

    This is not an exhaustive list.

  9. 9.

    GMO Legislation, EU, https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/gmo/legislation_en. Accessed 27.7.18.

  10. 10.

    Modern Times (1936). Dir. Charles Chaplin. United Artists.

  11. 11.

    R.U.R. (Rossumovi univerzální roboti) (1920) written by Karel Čapek.

  12. 12.

    Metropolis (1927). Dir. Frizt Lang.

  13. 13.

    EU General Data Protection Regulation, https://www.eugdpr.org/

  14. 14.

    Though sex includes an other, advocates of “sex robots” say that sex does not have to include an other, and masturbation is synonymous with sexual intercourse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Computing, Engineering, and Media, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

    Kathleen Richardson

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  1. Kathleen Richardson
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Correspondence to Kathleen Richardson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Teresa Heffernan

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Richardson, K. (2019). The Business of Ethics, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence. In: Heffernan, T. (eds) Cyborg Futures. Social and Cultural Studies of Robots and AI. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21836-2_6

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