Can Morality Be Ascribed to Robot?

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to clarify part of the ethical basis necessary for a machine like a humanoid robot to be a member of a human society. In order to do so, we formulate three conditions for moral agency on which membership is based: cognitive-behavioral, ontological, and normative. For the purpose of showing the relevance of these conditions, we conducted an experiment which involved human-robot interactions and moral judgement tasks. This conceptual exploration and empirical research suggests that bodily coordination can generate the demand for a certain moral commitment on the part of artificial beings.