Why Machine Ethics?

摘要

Machine ethics, machine morality, artificial morality, and computational ethics are all terms for an emerging field of study that seeks to implement moral decision-making faculties in computers and robots. Machine ethics is not merely science fiction but a topic that requires serious consideration given the rapid emergence of increasingly complex autonomous software agents and robots. The authors introduce the issues shaping this new field of enquiry and describe issues regarding the development of artificial moral agents.This article is part of a special issue on Machine Ethics.