Ethicists, policy-makers, and the general public have questioned whether artificial entities such as robots warrant rights or other forms of moral consideration. There is little synthesis of the research on this topic so far. We identify 294 relevant research or discussion items in our literature review of this topic. There is widespread agreement among scholars that some artificial entities could warrant moral consideration in the future, if not also the present. The reasoning varies, such as concern for the effects on artificial entities and concern for the effects on human society. Beyond the conventional consequentialist, deontological, and virtue ethicist ethical frameworks, some scholars encourage "information ethics" and "social-relational" approaches, though there are opportunities for more in-depth ethical research on the nuances of moral consideration of artificial entities. There is limited relevant empirical data collection, primarily in a few psychological studies on current moral and social attitudes of humans towards robots and other artificial entities. This suggests an important gap for psychological, sociological, economic, and organizational research on how artificial entities will be integrated into society and the factors that will determine how the interests of artificial entities are considered.

/pdf/the-moral-consideration-of-artificial-entities-a-literature-3jg9c8pvsh.pdf

The Moral Consideration of Artificial Entities: A Literature Review

Why do we prefer humans to artificial intelligence in telemarketing? A mind perception explanation

Abstract Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) create an increasing similarity between the performance of AI systems or AI-based robots and human communication. They raise the questions: whether it is possible to communicate with, understand, and even empathically perceive artificial agents; whether we should ascribe actual subjectivity and thus quasi-personal status to them beyond a certain level of simulation; what will be the impact of an increasing dissolution of the distinction between simulated and real encounters. (1) To answer these questions, the paper argues that the precondition for actually understanding others consists in the implicit assumption of the subjectivity of our counterpart, which makes shared feelings and a „we-intentionality” possible. This assumption is ultimately based on the presupposition of a shared form of life, conceived here as „conviviality.” (2) The possibility that future artificial agents could meet these preconditions is refuted on the basis of embodied and enactive cognition, which links subjectivity and consciousness to the aliveness of an organism. (3) Even if subjectivity is in principle impossible for artificial agents, the distinction between simulated and real subjectivity might nevertheless become increasingly blurred. Here, possible consequences are discussed, especially using the example of virtual psychotherapy. Finally, the paper makes case for a mindful appproach to the language we use to talk about artificial systems and pleads for preventing a systematic pretense of subjectivity. 

/pdf/understanding-sophia-on-human-interaction-with-artificial-17a9ylcz.pdf

Understanding Sophia? On human interaction with artificial agents

ABSTRACT While advances in technology have led to the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) in frontline services, the AI empathic effect is often overlooked. Based on emotional contagion theory, this research explores the impacts of AI emotional mimicry and empathic concern in service success and failure via experimental designs, respectively. Results indicate that AI with high emotional mimicry and empathic concern resulted in higher arousal and pleasure, increasing tourists’ continuous usage intention. Arousal and pleasure played significant mediating roles in service success. However, while empathic concern significantly affected continuous usage intention through pleasure, arousal did not have a similar effect. The joint effects of extrinsic and intrinsic anthropomorphism (emotional mimicry) were significant in a successful service context, but not in service failure. These results have important implications for the development and promotion of AI and enriches theoretical applications of emotional contagion theory and empathy.

The AI empathy effect: a mechanism of emotional contagion

When interacting with a service robot is (not) satisfying: The role of customers' need for social sharing of emotion

Expanding the debate about empathy with human beings, animals, or fictional characters to include human-robot relationships, this paper proposes two different perspectives from which to assess the scope and limits of empathy with robots: the first is epistemological, while the second is normative. The epistemological approach helps us to clarify whether we can empathize with artificial intelligence or, more precisely, with social robots. The main puzzle here concerns, among other things, exactly what it is that we empathize with if robots do not have emotions or beliefs, since they do not have a consciousness in an elaborate sense. However, by comparing robots with fictional characters, the paper shows that we can still empathize with robots and that many of the existing accounts of empathy and mindreading are compatible with such a view. By so doing, the paper focuses on the significance of perspective-taking and claims that we also ascribe to robots something like a perspectival experience. The normative approach examines the moral impact of empathizing with robots. In this regard, the paper critically discusses three possible responses: strategic, anti-barbarizational, and pragmatist. The latter position is defended by stressing that we are increasingly compelled to interact with robots in a shared world and that to take robots into our moral consideration should be seen as an integral part of our self- and other-understanding.

/pdf/understanding-a-i-can-and-should-we-empathize-with-robots-9ppdys1fjj.pdf

Understanding A.I. — Can and Should we Empathize with Robots?

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Understanding A.I. — Can and Should we Empathize with Robots?