The Prospects of Artificial Consciousness: Ethical Dimensions and Concerns.

Conscious machines would likely differ greatly from human consciousness, raising complex ethical questions about moral status. The article reviews current robotics approaches to machine consciousness and the obstacles to understanding it. It examines how we could know if a machine is conscious, the potential benefits of such consciousness, and its role in moral consideration. The analysis is partly speculative but emphasizes the need for a clear conceptual definition of artificial consciousness and the imperative to avoid creating machines with morally relevant forms of consciousness. Suggestions for future regulation are offered.

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Abstract

Can machines be conscious and what would be the ethical implications? This article gives an overview of current robotics approaches toward machine consciousness and considers factors that hamper an understanding of machine consciousness. After addressing the epistemological question of how we would know whether a machine is conscious and discussing potential advantages of potential future machine consciousness, it outlines the role of consciousness for ascribing moral status. As machine consciousness would most probably differ considerably from human consciousness, several complex questions must be addressed, including what forms of machine consciousness would be morally relevant forms of consciousness, and what the ethical implications of morally relevant forms of machine consciousness would be. While admittedly part of this reflection is speculative in nature, it clearly underlines the need for a detailed conceptual analysis of the concept of artificial consciousness and stresses the imperative to avoid building machines with morally relevant forms of consciousness. The article ends with some suggestions for potential future regulation of machine consciousness.