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Who Owns My Autonomous Vehicle? Ethics and Responsibility in Artificial and Human Intelligence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2018

JOHN HARRIS
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Abstract:

This article investigates both the claims made for, and the dangers or opportunities posed by, the development of (allegedly), aspiring or “would-be” autonomous vehicles and other artificially superintelligent machines. It also examines the dilemmas posed by the fact that these individuals might develop ideas above their station. These ideas may also limit or challenge the legitimacy of the proposed management and safety strategies that might be devised to limit the ways in which they might function or malfunction.

Keywords

autonomyautonomous vehiclesownershipartificially intelligent people
Type
Articles
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 27 , Special Issue 4: Clinical Neuroethics , October 2018 , pp. 599 - 609
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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References

Notes

1. I was stimulated to start this article in anticipation of attending the “Round table”: Regulating the Tyrell Corporation: Company Law and the Emergence of Novel Beings (WT.208871/Z/17/Z.) Grey’s Inn, London, January 17, 2018 convened by David Lawrence and Sarah Morley. I am indebted to all those who attended. Special thanks go to my colleagues Giulia Cavalieri and David Lawrence for detailed comments and assistance beyond the call of friendship, and to Tomi Kushner for, as ever, the most constructive and insightful editorial suggestions and encouragement.

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7. I prefer to speak of “fundamental rights” rather than “human rights” because of the inherent species bias in the use of the term “human” in this context. See Harris, J. Taking the “human” out of human rights. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 2011;20(1):9–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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11. To the extent that such bodies exist outside the United Kingdom

12. I do not here further explore the nature of mind.

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23. I discussed the latitude afforded humans by the God of the Old Testament in Chapter 4 of How to be Good. See note 3, Harris 2016, at 56ff.

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27. I cannot remember where I found the lines quoted in the text. There are many extant versions, but I prefer these lines to one of the many alternatives formulations; namely, “Luther then replied: Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted [convinced] of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted [convinced] by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God’s word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me.” Martin Luther: Excerpts from his account of the confrontation at the Diet of Worms. January 17, 1997; available at http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~lyman/english233/Luther-Diet_of_Worms.htm (last accessed 17 Apr 2018).

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29. See note 2, Morris 2016.

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31. Op Cit.

32. Harris, J. The survival lottery. Philosophy 1975;50:81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

33. I think I overheard the suggestion that we might leave trolleys to solve the Trolley Problem for themselves at the meeting referred to in note 1, but I have not been able to identify the source.

34. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6293/1573 (last accessed 21 Jan 2018, but not read because it was behind a pay wall). I cite it for others.

35. See note 2, Morris 2016.

36. See note 22, Harris 1980. Harris, J. In search of blue skies: Science, ethics and advances in technology Medical Law Review 2013;21:131–45CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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38. See note 22, Harris 1980, at 91.

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42. Rodgers, P. Elon Musk warns of terminator tech. Forbes, August 5, 2014; available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrodgers/2014/08/05/elon-musk-warns-ais-could-exterminate-humanity/ (last accessed 17 Apr 2018).Google Scholar

43. Indeed even human persons find such survival problematic.