Case Study
December 3, 2019
Truly Autonomous Machines Are Ethical
Carnegie Mellon University
There is widespread concern that as machines move toward greater autonomy, they may become a “law unto themselves” and turn against us. Yet the threat lies more in how we conceive of an autonomous machine rather than the machine itself
Tae Wan Kim and John Hooker of the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University are looking at the intersection of technology and ethics.
The authors provide a philosophical look at the rise of smart machines from the lens of ethics. The implementation of autonomous machines is a concern that the public feels could spiral out of control as robots begin to oppress humans. People tend to see an autonomous agent as one that sets its own agenda, free from external constraints, including ethical constraints. According to the writers, there is widespread concern that as machines move toward greater autonomy, they may become a “law unto themselves” and turn against humans. Y...