Machine Learning Coffee Seminar is organized weekly by the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI). The location alternates between Aalto University and the University of Helsinki. On September 23rd, the session consists of two parts.

Introducing the AI in Society Program of FCAI

Petri Ylikoski, Professor of Sociology, University of Helsinki

Can AI be responsible?

Raul Hakli, University Lecturer, Practical Philosophy, University of Helsinki

The question whether AI can be responsible can be understood in two ways: Either as “Can AI agents be responsible?” or “Can AI research be responsible?”. I will argue that only the latter is possible, because AI agents including robots are not autonomous in the sense required by fitness to be held morally responsible. The argument employs Alfred Mele’s history-sensitive account of autonomy and responsibility to the effect that even if robots were to have all the capacities required of moral agency, their history would deprive them from autonomy in a responsibility-undermining way.

The talk is based on joint work with Pekka Mäkelä, in particular the article: Raul Hakli & Pekka Mäkelä: Moral Responsibility of Robots and Hybrid Agents. The Monist, Volume 102, Issue 2, April 2019, Pages 259–275, https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onz009