Sims and Vulnerability: On the Ethics of Creating Emulated Minds.
Science and engineering ethics November 25, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-022-00416-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Ai ethics Artificial consciousness Vulnerability Whole brain emulation |
| Key points | Argues that concerns about the vulnerability of conscious whole brain emulations are more matters of institutional design than individual ethics, and that a competitive, poly-centric institutional framework is more likely to protect their interests than a monopolistic, centralized one. |
Abstract
It might become possible to build artificial minds with the capacity for experience. This raises a plethora of ethical issues, explored, among others, in the context of whole brain emulations (WBE). In this paper, I will take up the problem of vulnerability - given, for various reasons, less attention in the literature - that the conscious emulations will likely exhibit. Specifically, I will examine the role that vulnerability plays in generating ethical issues that may arise when dealing with WBEs. I will argue that concerns about vulnerability are more matters of institutional design than individual ethics, both when it comes to creating humanlike brain emulations, and when animal-like emulations are concerned. Consequently, the article contains reflection on some institutional measures that can be taken to protect the sims' interests. It concludes that an institutional framework more likely to succeed in this task is competitive and poly-centric, rather than monopolistic and centralized.