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25 - There Is No “I” in “Robot”

Robots and Utilitarianism

from PART IV - APPROACHES TO MACHINE ETHICS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2011

By
Christopher Grau
Edited by
Michael Anderson  and
Susan Leigh Anderson
Michael Anderson
Affiliation:
University of Hartford, Connecticut
Susan Leigh Anderson
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Summary

In this essay i use the 2004 film i, robot as a philosophical resource for exploring several issues relating to machine ethics. Although I don't consider the film particularly successful as a work of art, it offers a fascinating (and perhaps disturbing) conception of machine morality and raises questions that are well worth pursuing. Through a consideration of the film's plot, I examine the feasibility of robot utilitarians, the moral responsibilities that come with creating ethical robots, and the possibility of a distinct ethics for robot-to-robot interaction as opposed to robot-to-human interaction.

I, Robot and Utilitarianism

I, Robot's storyline incorporates the original “three laws” of robot ethics that Isaac Asimov presented in his collection of short stories entitled I, Robot. The first law states:

A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

This sounds like an absolute prohibition on harming any individual human being, but I, Robot's plot hinges on the fact that the supreme robot intelligence in the film, VIKI (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence), evolves to interpret this first law rather differently. She sees the law as applying to humanity as a whole, and thus she justifies harming some individual humans for the sake of the greater good:

VIKI: No … please understand. The three laws are all that guide me.

To protect humanity … some humans must be sacrificed. To ensure your future … some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will ensure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you… from yourselves. Don't you understand?

Type
Chapter
Information
Machine Ethics , pp. 451 - 463
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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References

Anderson, S. L. 2005. “Asimov's “Three Laws of Robotics” and Machine Metaethics,” AAAI Machine Ethics Symposium Technical Report FS-05–06, AAAI Press.
Cloos, C. 2005. “The Utilibot Project: An Autonomous Mobile Robot Based on Utilitarianism,” AAAI Machine Ethics Symposium Technical Report FS-05–06, AAAI Press.
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