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International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology, 2023, 5(12); doi: 10.25236/IJFS.2023.051221.

Reflections on the Moral Status of Robots—The Establishment of Moral Status Standards for Robots in the Era of Strong Artificial Intelligence

Author(s)

Yingdong Shen1, Ziyi Gong2

Corresponding Author:
Yingdong Shen
Affiliation(s)

1School of Politics and Public Administration, Qufu Normal University, Rizhao, Shandong, China

2School of Politics and Public Administration, Qufu Normal University, Rizhao, Shandong, China

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence, such as robots, has not only improved people's lives and accelerated the development of society, but also triggered ethical debates about whether robots have moral status. This paper discusses the importance of the internal "spirit" (or "soul"), and discusses the transformation of the moral status of robots from the perspective of human-machine relationship. It is concluded that the current robots still do not have moral status, but at the same time, it also raises the question of whether the era of strong artificial intelligence should give robots moral status. Based on this, the theory of ethical behaviourism is introduced in order to establish a comprehensive new criterion for judging moral status in response to the debate about the moral status of robots with full autonomous consciousness in the future.

Keywords

Robot, Moral Status, Moral Consciousness, Ethical Behaviourism

Cite This Paper

Yingdong Shen, Ziyi Gong. Reflections on the Moral Status of Robots—The Establishment of Moral Status Standards for Robots in the Era of Strong Artificial Intelligence. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology (2023), Vol. 5, Issue 12: 130-134. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2023.051221.

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