Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
An 'Ethical Black Box' For Robots?
The idea that robots should be equipped with an "ethical black box" that would enable scientists to check their ethical decision-making has been floated by researchers at a conference at the University of Surrey.
“Serious accidents will need investigating, but what do you do if an accident investigator turns up and discovers there is no internal datalog, no record of what the robot was doing at the time of the accident? It’ll be more or less impossible to tell what happened,” Winfield said.
“The reason commercial aircraft are so safe is not just good design, it is also the tough safety certification processes and, when things do go wrong, robust and publicly visible processes of air accident investigation,” the researchers write in a paper to be presented at the Surrey meeting.
The introduction of ethical black boxes would have benefits beyond accident investigation. The same devices could provide robots – elderly care assistants, for example – with the ability to explain their actions in simple language, and so help users to feel comfortable with the technology.
Science fiction great Arthur C. Clarke explored this idea in the excellent 1984 novel 2010 (which was also made into a movie), his sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
In the movie, Dr. Chandra, the creator of the HAL 9000 artificial intelligence computer, returns to the spaceship Discovery, now orbiting Jupiter, to determine the reason for the ethical lapse that causes HAL to kill astronaut Frank Poole.
Winfield and Marina Jirotka, professor of human-centred computing at Oxford University, argue that robotics firms should follow the example set by the aviation industry, which brought in black boxes and cockpit voice recorders so that accident investigators could understand what caused planes to crash and ensure that crucial safety lessons were learned. Installed in a robot, an ethical black box would record the robot’s decisions, its basis for making them, its movements, and information from sensors such as cameras, microphones and rangefinders.
(Dr. Chandra explains HAL's apparent ethical lapse)
Even though 2010 was just a movie, and Hal is a science-fictional computer, it illustrates why a simple list of instructions executed may not fully explicate what happened. This problem will be exacerbated by the fact that AI computers of the near future will rely heavily on deep learning techniques that work, but are poorly understood.
(Machine Learning at XKCD)
You might also be interested in this article Can You Give A Robot A Conscience? which explores similar themes. The discussion with the SAL 9000 computer (see embedded video) is also revealing. Also, see Machine Ethics With Prospective Logic, which discusses the different results that can be reached by "moral" systems.
Via The Guardian.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/28/2017)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...' - Philip K Dick, 1954.
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...' - George Parsons Lathrup, 1897.
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...'
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
'My cars talk to one another.'
Elegant Bivouac Shelter Produces Water And Electricity
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.'
'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them?
'I said, "Listen up, motherf*cker.'
Cybertruck Robotic Arm F10 Drone Launch!
Drone away!
Black Fungus Blocks Radiation
'You were surrounded by Astrophage most of the time'
Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
