Norm Internalisation in Human and Artificial Intelligence

In this article, principles of architectures relating to normative agents are evaluated with regard to the question whether and to what extend results of empirical research are incorporated in the architecture. In the human sciences, internalisation is a crucial element within the concept of norms. Internalisation distinguishes normative behaviour regulation from mere coercion. The aim of this article is to begin answering the question of to what extent normative agent architectures represent the theoretical construct of norm internalisation. The relevant research in this area may be found in socialisation research in psychology and sociology. Evaluation of conclusions from the empirical sciences allows to identify drawbacks and opportunities in existing architectures, as well as to develop suggestions for future development.Normative Agent Architectures, Norm Internalisation, Socialisation Theories, Theoretical Validity

Homo Socionicus: a Case Study of Simulation Models of Norms

This paper describes a survey of normative agent-based social simulation models. These models are examined from the perspective of the foundations of social theory. Agent-based modelling contributes to the research program of methodological individualism. Norms are a central concept in the role theoretic concept of action in the tradition of Durkheim and Parsons. This paper investigates to what extend normative agent-based models are able to capture the role theoretic concept of norms. Three methodological core problems are identified: the question of norm transmission, normative transformation of agents and what kind of analysis the models contribute. It can be shown that initially the models appeared only to address some of these problems rather than all of them simultaneously. More recent developments, however, show progress in that direction. However, the degree of resolution of intra agent processes remains too low for a comprehensive understanding of normative behaviour regulation.Norms, Normative Agent-Based Social Simulation, Role Theory, Methodological Individualism

Escape from the factory of the robot monsters: agents of change

Purpose: The increasing use of robotics within modern factories and workplaces not only sees us becoming more dependent on this technology but it also introduces innovative ways by which humans interact with complex systems. As agent-based systems become more integrated into work environments, the traditional human team becomes more integrated with agent-based automation and, in some cases, autonomous behaviours. This paper discusses these interactions in terms of team composition and how a human-agent collective can share goals via the delegation of authority between human and agent team members. Design/methodology/approach: This paper highlights the increasing integration of robotics in everyday life and examines the nature of how new novel teams may be constructed with the use of intelligent systems and autonomous agents. Findings: Areas of human factors and human-computer interaction are used to discuss the benefits and limitations of human-agent teams. Research limitations/implications: There is little research in (human–robot) (H–R) teamwork, especially from a human factors perspective. Practical implications: Advancing the author’s understanding of the H–R team (and associated intelligent agent systems) will assist in the integration of such systems in everyday practices. Social implications: H–R teams hold a great deal of social and organisational issues that need further exploring. Only through understanding this context can advanced systems be fully realised. Originality/value: This paper is multidisciplinary, drawing on areas of psychology, computer science, robotics and human–computer Interaction. Specific attention is given to an emerging field of autonomous software agents that are growing in use. This paper discusses the uniqueness of the human-agent teaming that results when human and agent members share a common goal within a team

Liberal constitutionalism - between individual and collective interests

Table of contents: Wojciech Włoch -The Democratic Paradox Revisited - how liberal constitutionalism supports democratic equality; Tomasz Milej - Liberal democracy’s rocky path – the cases of Kenya and Tanzania; Tímea Drinóczi, Agnieszka Bień-Kacała - Illiberal constitutionalism in Hungary and Poland: The case of judicialization of politics; Fabio Ratto Trabucco - The Hungarian Judicial System evolution between ‘Orbánism’ and European Governance; Zbigniew Witkowski, Maciej Serowaniec - The role of ‘controlled’ referendum in Polish democracy; Faith Kabata - Impact of UN Human Rights Monitoring Mechanisms in Kenya; Lóránt Csink, Réka Török - The collision of national security purpose secret information gathering and the right to privacy. The present and future of Hungarian regulation; István Sabjanics - The Legality of National Security; Václav Stehlík - Metamorphosis of Public Security Exception in the EU Internal Market and EU Citizens’ RightsCan a democracy work without liberalism? Or in other words, is the concept of governing and being governed in turns sustainable without respecting individual rights? Or is a democracy doomed to be hijacked by authoritarian rulers, if not backed by robust mechanisms of individual rights protection, by a rule of law and as system, in which – as James Madison wanted – an ambition is made to counteract ambition and the abuses of government are controlled? A standard answer of the so-called ‘Western’ constitutionalism is still a clear ‘no’. The present volume offers study material on countries and historical situations, in which this clear ‘no’ faces challenges. It traces trajectories of democracy’s development as it embraced and rejected liberal ideas. The contribution by Timea Drinoczi and Agnieszka Bien-Kacała does it with respect to Hungary and Poland, while the contribution by Tomasz Milej focuses on Kenya and Tanzania. But before embarking on the developments in particular countries, Wojciech Włoch takes the reader through the contemporary thought on the relationship between democracy and liberalism. He argues from the philosophical perspective that the liberal ideal of equal rights of individuals enables a democracy to thrive and prosper. Tomasz Milej takes up this point showing on the examples of Kenya and Tanzania how the attempts to base a democratic regime on illiberal pillars eventually lead to a collapse of the same. In this vein, Timea Drinoczi and Agnieszka Bien-Kacała make a strong case against theorising violations of constitutional stipulations and disenfranchisement of judiciaries as some new concepts of democracy or political constitutionalism as opposed to the legal one; one of the terms they prefer to describe the departure from the liberal democracy is abusive constitutionalism. Various examples for this type of regime from Hungarian practice are provided by Fabio Ratto Trabucco, who discusses the legal means employed by the Hungarian government to take over the judiciary by replacing judges with new ones under a new politicised appointment procedure. In so doing, the author also discusses the interaction of the Hungarian government with external actors, such as Venice Commission and various organs of the European Union. On such a dialogue focuses Faith Kabata documenting a poor record of Kenya in implementing of the UN monitoring bodies recommendations and even obstructionism by the state executive organs regarding civil and political rights. Her study shows that these rights were best implemented when individuals took their cases to the courts and that the biggest obstacle to the implementation was a lack of social and political internalisation of certain human rights provisions. Aren’t those internalisation deficits the same ones that derailed the liberal democracy – at least temporarily – in Hungary and Poland? One could look from this perspective at the failure of the direct democracy instruments to enhance people’s participation in public matters, as discussed by Zbigniew Witkowski and Maciej Serowaniec in the Polish context. Those more general accounts are supplemented by three case studies on a sensitive area of clash between the collective and individual interest. The contributions by Lóránt Csink and Réka Török, by István Sabjanics and by Václav Stehlík examine the relationship between the national security concerns and the individual freedoms. Quite interestingly, Stehlík’s research shows that the readjustment away from the individual movement rights towards the protection of national security concerns has also found its way into the case law of the Court of Justice if the European Union

Modeling social norms in real-world agent-based simulations

Studying and simulating social systems including human groups and societies can be a complex problem. In order to build a model that simulates humans\u27 actions, it is necessary to consider the major factors that affect human behavior. Norms are one of these factors: social norms are the customary rules that govern behavior in groups and societies. Norms are everywhere around us, from the way people handshake or bow to the clothes they wear. They play a large role in determining our behaviors. Studies on norms are much older than the age of computer science, since normative studies have been a classic topic in sociology, psychology, philosophy and law. Various theories have been put forth about the functioning of social norms. Although an extensive amount of research on norms has been performed during the recent years, there remains a significant gap between current models and models that can explain real-world normative behaviors. Most of the existing work on norms focuses on abstract applications, and very few realistic normative simulations of human societies can be found. The contributions of this dissertation include the following: 1) a new hybrid technique based on agent-based modeling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo is introduced. This method is used to prepare a smoking case study for applying normative models. 2) This hybrid technique is described using category theory, which is a mathematical theory focusing on relations rather than objects. 3) The relationship between norm emergence in social networks and the theory of tipping points is studied. 4) A new lightweight normative architecture for studying smoking cessation trends is introduced. This architecture is then extended to a more general normative framework that can be used to model real-world normative behaviors. The final normative architecture considers cognitive and social aspects of norm formation in human societies. Normative architectures based on only one of these two aspects exist in the literature, but a normative architecture that effectively includes both of these two is missing

Erich Fromm and the Critical Theory of Communication

Erich Fromm (1900-1980) was a Marxist psychoanalyst, philosopher and socialist humanist. This paper asks: How can Fromm’s critical theory of communication be used and updated to provide a critical perspective in the age of digital and communicative capitalism? In order to provide an answer, the article discusses elements from Fromm’s work that allow us to better understand the human communication process. The focus is on communication (section 2), ideology (section 3), and technology (section 4). Fromm’s approach can inform a critical theory of communication in multiple respects: His notion of the social character allows to underpin such a theory with foundations from critical psychology. Fromm’s distinction between the authoritarian and the humanistic character can be used for discerning among authoritarian and humanistic communication. Fromm’s work can also inform ideology critique: The ideology of having shapes life, thought, language and social action in capitalism. In capitalism, technology (including computing) is fetishized and the logic of quantification shapes social relations. Fromm’s quest for humanist technology and participatory computing can inform contemporary debates about digital capitalism and its alternatives

Beyond “Quasi-Norms”: The Challenges and Potential of Engaging with Norms in Cyberspace

As in any realm of human activity, norms are unavoidable in cyberspace. Yet cyber- space is a singularly complex setting within which to understand and try to shape norms. The problem is not simply the nature of cyberspace, although, as we will address below, acknowledging the unique characteristics of cyberspace is crucial when exploring norms in this realm. Rather, the challenge lies in the often over- looked nature of norms themselves and how their defining features render them especially difficult to decipher – and, by extension, to attempt to design – in the context of cyberspace. Norms are widely-accepted and internalised principles or codes of conduct that indicate what is deemed to be permitted, prohibited, or required of agents within a specific community. The modest aim of our chapter is to explore the challenges and potential of engaging with norms in cyberspace. By ‘engaging with norms in cyberspace’ we mean both understanding existing norms and the more prominent endeavour (prevalent in recent discussions of policies related to both cyber security and Internet governance) of what is variously described as ‘cultivating’, ‘promoting’ or ‘developing’ new norms.2 Our focus throughout most of this chapter will be on the former. Indeed, a central point of the argument that will follow is that one can- not hope to ‘cultivate’ norms in cyberspace without first understanding the existing normative landscape. In order to explore the challenges and potential of engaging with norms in cyberspace, we will take five steps. First, we will elaborate upon the definition of ‘norms’ offered above. In doing this, we will draw on influential work from within the discipline of International Relations (IR), and specifically from the multifaceted approaches labelled ‘normative IR theory’ and ‘constructivism’.3 Second, we will introduce a task that is fundamental to understanding existing norms in any realm, including cyberspace: interpreting the norms themselves. Third, we will highlight the characteristics of cyberspace that render this crucial task particularly difficult; namely, that it is a new and rapidly changing realm in which underlying values are contested and relevant agents are often difficult to identify. Fourth, we will link the difficulties of addressing norms in such a realm with the tendency to invoke what we will call ‘quasi-norms’, or merely purported norms. Fifth and finally, we will turn to the potential to engage with norms in cyberspace, regardless of obstacles, by uncovering what we will call the ‘norm of de-territorialised data’ and, in the process, demonstrating how evidence for its status as such can be uncovered in the justifications and judgements that agents in international politics offer when it is violated. Our hope is that these preliminary steps will take us some distance towards establishing a conceptual framework for speaking more coherently about norms in cyberspace

Mathematical foundations of moral preferences

One-shot anonymous unselfishness in economic games is commonly explained by social preferences, which assume that people care about the monetary payoffs of others. However, during the last ten years, research has shown that different types of unselfish behaviour, including cooperation, altruism, truth-telling, altruistic punishment, and trustworthiness are in fact better explained by preferences for following one’s own personal norms – internal standards about what is right or wrong in a given situation. Beyond better organ- ising various forms of unselfish behaviour, this moral preference hypothesis has recently also been used to increase charitable donations, simply by means of interventions that make the morality of an action salient. Here we review experimental and theoretical work dedicated to this rapidly growing field of research, and in doing so we outline mathematical foundations for moral preferences that can be used in future models to better understand selfless human actions and to adjust policies accordingly. These foundations can also be used by artificial intelligence to better navigate the complex landscape of human morality