Article: The ethics of non-human agents: A growing number of digital agents are non-human and in some cases are increasingly capable of autonomy (robots, drones, self-driving cars, etc.).  Algorithms are responsible for decisions in a wide range of areas these days (for example in stock marketing trading), and any algorithm that makes decisions is not ethically neutral.  Some algorithms are adaptive, able to learn and adjust their behavior over time.  We have to understand how such actors affect us and our societies.  Autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars will react to changing conditions and deal with circumstances that they have never encountered before, without human intervention.  Does it make sense to think of these technological systems as ethical agents in their own right?  Is there a fundamental ethical priciple based on 'global' human values?  What is the ethical status of machines that are increasingly autonomous and might even, at some point, be described as conscious? According to this article, what can be a possible solution to this ethical issue in an emerging or new technology?.

Principles of Information Systems (MindTap Course List)
12th Edition
ISBN:9781285867168
Author:Ralph Stair, George Reynolds
Publisher:Ralph Stair, George Reynolds
Chapter4: Software: Systems And Application Software
Section4.7: Ethical & Societal Issues: Digital Software Systems May Improve Nuclear Power Plant Safety
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The ethics of non-human agents: A growing number of digital agents are non-human and in some cases are increasingly capable of autonomy (robots, drones, self-driving cars, etc.).  Algorithms are responsible for decisions in a wide range of areas these days (for example in stock marketing trading), and any algorithm that makes decisions is not ethically neutral.  Some algorithms are adaptive, able to learn and adjust their behavior over time.  We have to understand how such actors affect us and our societies.  Autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars will react to changing conditions and deal with circumstances that they have never encountered before, without human intervention.  Does it make sense to think of these technological systems as ethical agents in their own right?  Is there a fundamental ethical priciple based on 'global' human values?  What is the ethical status of machines that are increasingly autonomous and might even, at some point, be described as conscious?

According to this article, what can be a possible solution to this ethical issue in an emerging or new technology?.

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