Robot rights? Towards a social-relational justification of moral consideration \ud

Should we grant rights to artificially intelligent robots? Most current and near-future robots do not meet the hard criteria set by deontological and utilitarian theory. Virtue ethics can avoid this problem with its indirect approach. However, both direct and indirect arguments for moral consideration rest on ontological features of entities, an approach which incurs several problems. In response to these difficulties, this paper taps into a different conceptual resource in order to be able to grant some degree of moral consideration to some intelligent social robots: it sketches a novel argument for moral consideration based on social relations. It is shown that to further develop this argument we need to revise our existing ontological and social-political frameworks. It is suggested that we need a social ecology, which may be developed by engaging with Western ecology and Eastern worldviews. Although this relational turn raises many difficult issues and requires more work, this paper provides a rough outline of an alternative approach to moral consideration that can assist us in shaping our relations to intelligent robots and, by extension, to all artificial and biological entities that appear to us as more than instruments for our human purpose

Justification and Application of Human Rights : Author's Reply to Critics

In this reply I explain the philosophical project behind the book and the reasons for its expansion in occasion of the second edition. I respond to the challenging remarks of my critics and clarify in which terms I adopt a Hegelian approach to a theory of human rights. Hopefully, this should guide the reader through the requested clarifications I provide with regard to functional aspects and possible applications of the theory

Is Machine Learning Unsafe and Irresponsible in Social Sciences? Paradoxes and Reconsidering from Recidivism Prediction Tasks

The paper addresses some fundamental and hotly debated issues for high-stakes event predictions underpinning the computational approach to social sciences. We question several prevalent views against machine learning and outline a new paradigm that highlights the promises and promotes the infusion of computational methods and conventional social science approaches

Robotics in Germany and Japan

This book comprehends an intercultural and interdisciplinary framework including current research fields like Roboethics, Hermeneutics of Technologies, Technology Assessment, Robotics in Japanese Popular Culture and Music Robots. Contributions on cultural interrelations, technical visions and essays are rounding out the content of this book