Abstract
Abstract For human ethics, it can convincingly be argued that justice is a central cornerstone and basis. Here, it is suggested that this can, to some extent, similarly be applied to robots. The article makes the argument that Rawls’ veil of ignorance in his conception of justice as fairness can effectively be replaced by a much more natural condition of prudent egoism in a finite world. Observing ones’ own important interests in an encompassing context paves the way for a guideline for the conduct, which is binding for humans, robots and each and every pragmatic agent with a minimum level of rationality. These arguments do not see humans (forever) in any privileged position: any agent, single human, state, alien or artificial with a certain minimum of general cognitive (and effective) capabilities is bound by a universal negative imperative. This entails that precautious procedures are preferable, and some general prudently constrained flexibility is required for self-consistency and survival.
Highlights
In this short opinion piece, an attempt is made to freshly sketch a very coarse but wide picture with the main aim of stimulating discussions on several diverse levels; a rather abstract conceptual layout is underpinned by concrete exemplary mechanisms.The very concept of ethics is intimately linked to conscious and considerate human behavior
For human ethics, it can convincingly be argued that justice is a central cornerstone and basis
Observing ones’ own important interests in an encompassing context paves the way for a guideline for the conduct, which is binding for humans, robots and each and every pragmatic agent with a minimum level of rationality. These arguments do not see humans in any privileged position: any agent, single human, state, alien or artificial with a certain minimum of general cognitive capabilities is bound by a universal negative imperative
Summary
In this short opinion piece, an attempt is made to freshly sketch a very coarse but wide picture with the main aim of stimulating discussions on several diverse levels; a rather abstract conceptual layout is underpinned by concrete exemplary mechanisms. The very concept of ethics is (hitherto) intimately linked to conscious and considerate human behavior. Animal or simple inanimate object, including standard present-day robots, is expected to act ethically. It is no wonder that whatever considerations might be undertaken, their starting point, or at least their inspirations, can be traced to concepts and rules formulated for
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