Title

The responsibility gap : ascribing responsibility for the actions of learning automata

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Ethics and Information Technology

Publication Date

9-1-2004

Volume

6

Issue

3

First Page

175

Last Page

183

Publisher

Springer Netherlands

Keywords

artificial intelligence, autonomous robots, learning machines, liability, moral responsibility

Abstract

Traditionally, the manufacturer/operator of a machine is held (morally and legally) responsible for the consequences of its operation. Autonomous, learning machines, based on neural networks, genetic algorithms and agent architectures, create a new situation, where the manufacturer/operator of the machine is in principle not capable of predicting the future machine behaviour any more, and thus cannot be held morally responsible or liable for it. The society must decide between not using this kind of machine any more (which is not a realistic option), or facing a responsibility gap, which cannot be bridged by traditional concepts of responsibility ascription.

DOI

10.1007/s10676-004-3422-1

Print ISSN

13881957

E-ISSN

15728439

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Matthias, A. (2004). The responsibility gap: Ascribing responsibility for the actions of learning automata. Ethics and Information Technology, 6(3), 175-183. doi: 10.1007/s10676-004-3422-1

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