Engineering Better Ethics into Human and Artificial Cognitive Systems

Abstract

Evolutionary ethics presents a hypothesis for understanding ethics as an evolved social behavior which develops according to the advantages or disadvantages it creates for an individual in its environment. Using this framework, designers of human or artificial cognitive systems can identify the ethical standards they wish to follow and their system to promote, and design into the system the legal, social, or prudential incentives or disincentives to promote the desired choice of ethical standards.