As robots rise, will ethics follow?

John Sullins is an assistant professor at Sonoma State University who specializes in roboethics -- both the ethical quandaries facing robotic engineers and the moral dilemmas that robots will face as they become increasingly complex.
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DailyGeek: As a roboethicist, what did you think of the TV remake of "Battlestar Galactica," where robots turned against their human creators?

Sullins: I saw it a little differently than most people, I am sure. As a roboethicist I thought it was a fantastic series that really dealt with the tough issues confronting the emerging field of roboethics. Roboethics is the study of how to program machines in such a way that they are capable of making ethical decisions that fit with human moral reasoning. As machines enter our lives and simultaneously become more autonomous, they will have to make decisions that have moral impact.

"Battlestar Galactica" gives us a good example of how disastrous it could be if we do not succeed in developing a functional roboethics. "BSG" looked closely, and unflinchingly, at how ethics and morality is a reciprocal relationship of rights and responsibilities and that artificial moral agents will not only have responsibilities toward us but will also need to be granted certain rights.

We have a long history of occasionally refusing to grant rights to other humans, so I think the machines are not going to have a very easy time of it either.

DailyGeek: How integrated do you think robots will be in our lives by the year 2030?

Sullins: By 2030, barring some global economic or climatic disaster, household robots are likely to be as ubiquitous as personal computers were by the 1990s. The mechanical engineering is already in place for humanoid and other biologically inspired machines. By then computing power will make something roughly equivalent of the power of a human brain cost well under a few thousand dollars.

What may still be lacking, however, is software. We are still somewhat in the dark when it comes to fully understanding how our own minds work, much less being up to the task of designing robust artificial ones.

DailyGeek: What do you think is the most impressive use of a robot today?

Sullins: I am very interested in the work of the Personal Robotics Group in the MIT Media Lab. They are working on making robots that are not only useful but also social, meaning that they learn how to interact with you instead of you having to learn how to interact with them. If successful, this will be a real change in the design of technology. Our technology will then begin to bend itself to our needs rather than the way it is now, where each new technology forces us to radically alter our way of life.

DailyGeek: Are people currently using robots in a way that concern you?

Sullins: My biggest concern has to be the great leap we have made in military robotics. In just a decade or so here in the U.S., we have gone from having no military robots to having many thousands in the field today. There are a staggering number of designs being proposed for the Future Combat Systems program, everything from small insect-sized robots to semi-autonomous fighting vehicles. Warfare is already a troubling ethical situation and placing new technology in service before we fully understand what effects it will have greatly compounds the problem. Automating the hard moral decisions found in combat may cause us to stop facing them ourselves.

DailyGeek: As for today's technology, what OS do you primarily use?

Sullins: I have been fully assimilated by Microsoft for some time now. But I felt bad about it so I am experimenting with Linux. As someone who teaches computer ethics, I am torn between the very strong arguments in favor of open-source software and Jaron Lanier's counter argument that open source is incapable of creating innovative products.

DailyGeek: Do you have a preferred Internet browser?

Sullins: I like Firefox right now but I am keeping an eye on Chrome. I tend to not trust plug-ins so I do not use any.

DailyGeek: What other social networking applications do you use?

Sullins: Facebook to keep up with my students, Plaxo and LinkedIn for business, and Academia.edu for connecting with fellow researchers. Twitter -- I am not sure why but there must be something I can do with it.

DailyGeek: What are your favorite Web sites?

Sullins: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Futurist and Transhuman Guru Raymond Kurzweil has a fabulous site.

DailyGeek: Favorite way to get news?

Sullins: Pressdemocrat.com of course, as well as Singularity Hub, to follow the transmigration of humanity into the machine, and Inside Higher Ed, to follow the death of the American higher education system.

DailyGeek: What type of phone do you use?

Sullins: A BlackBerry Pearl, a smart phone on a professor's budget.

DailyGeek: Favorite productivity tech tool?

Sullins: I can only be productive when I turn it all off, except for a word processor for writing and the Web for research. When working with others, PBwiki is very handy.

DailyGeek: Favorite piece of technology that is not mainstream?

Sullins: Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kit. This is a fantastic way to get into amateur robotics. The kit is brilliantly designed and has to be one of the best educational toys ever created.

DailyGeek: What question should have I asked?

Sullins: What is the appropriate role for technology in our lives?

The unexamined technology is not worth building. During my short time at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in the '90s, I learned that technology should be built not only with good engineering and sound marketing but also with social and philosophical values worked in consciously into the design. This is what results in the best possible technology: technology that can help make us better as human beings.

Bonus question from the last Q&A participant, Roy Tennant, a digital librarian:

Tennant: Do you think that one day software robots will roam the Internet to gather information, analyze what is found and present us with findings? If so, do you foresee any ethical implications?

Sullins: Absolutely, these artificial agents would be much more intelligent versions of the bots that search engines like Google already use. There will be a number of important ethical issues regarding this type of artificial agent. Privacy issues would be the most important. These agents would have to be programed to respect the rights of human users and even other artificial agents. In addition, trust will also be a big issue. How will you be able to trust the information these agents dig up for you? With increased intelligence will come more complicated motives in these agents. Perhaps they have some other agenda or interests separate from your own and may spin the information they deliver to try to influence your beliefs or actions. It will be important that they adhere to similar ethical codes that human librarians and researchers do today.

You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com. Check out his blog at DailyGeek.Pressdemocrat.com or on twitter.com/eWords.

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BY NATHAN HALVERSON
Source：THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

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