Solving“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

2CaseStudiesinRobotEthics

Dr.JasonMillar

WhoamI?

• B.Sc.EngineeringPhysics(MechanicalOption)(Queen’s)

• Workedasanengineerdesigningaerospaceelectronics, andtelecommunicationshardware

• B.A.,M.A.inphilosophy.UOttawa• Ph.D.Philosophy: robotethics,scienceandtechnologystudies.(Queen’s)

WhoamI?

RobotEthics?

Yes,robotethicsisathing.

RobotEthics?

• Transportation

RobotEthics?

• Transportation• Militarydrones

RobotEthics?

• Transportation• Militarydrones• Commercialdrones

RobotEthics?

• Transportation• Militarydrones• Commercialdrones• Healthcare

RobotEthics?

• Transportation• Militarydrones• Commercialdrones• Healthcare• Loveandsexwithrobots(socialrobotics)

RobotEthics?

• Transportation• Militarydrones• Commercialdrones• Healthcare• Loveandsexwithrobots(socialrobotics)

Jibo

RobotEthics

“Toahammer,everythinglookslikeanail.”

• Isuppose itistempting, iftheonlytoolyouhave isahammer,totreateverythingasifitwereanail. [AbrahamH.Maslow(1962),TowardaPsychologyofBeing]

• Giveasmallboyahammer,andhewillfindthateverything heencountersneedspounding. [AbrahamKaplan(1964),TheConductofInquiry]

RobotEthics

“Toahammer,everything lookslikeanail.”

“Toanengineer,everything lookslikeatechnicalproblem.”

RobotEthics

“Toanengineer,everything lookslikeatechnicalproblem.”

I’dliketomakethefollowingcase:Designingautomation andartificial intelligence (robotics)technologieswell willrequireadifferent kindof

engineering problem-solving.

RobotEthics

Designingautomation andartificial intelligence(robotics) technologieswell willrequirea

differentkindofengineeringproblem-solving.

Inrobotics, someproblemsare“unsolvable” ifwethinkofthemonlyintechnical terms.

RobotEthics

Designingautomationandartificialintelligence(robotics)technologieswellwillrequireadifferentkindof

engineeringproblem-solving.

Inrobotics,someproblemsare“unsolvable” ifwethinkofthemonlyintechnicalterms.

Weneedanexpandedunderstandingofengineering/designethicstosolvethoseproblems.

Case1:TheTunnelProblem

Youaretravellingalongasinglelanemountainroadinanautonomous carthatisfastapproaching anarrowtunnel.Justbeforeenteringthetunnelachildattemptstorunacrosstheroadbuttripsinthecenterofthelane,effectivelyblockingtheentrancetothetunnel.Thecarhasbuttwooptions:hitandkillthechild,orswerveintothewalloneithersideofthetunnel,thuskillingyou.

TheTunnelProblem

• ThreeQuestions:1. Howshouldthecar

react?

TheTunnelProblem

• ThreeQuestions:1. Howshouldthecar

react?2. Howwouldyouchoose

howthecarreacts?

TheTunnelProblem

• ThreeQuestions:1. Howshouldthecar

react?2. Howwouldyou choose

howthecarreacts?3. Who shoulddecideho

thecarreacts?

TheTunnelProblem

• OpenRoboethicsInitiative(Ori)poll

TheTunnelProblem

TheTunnelProblem

TheTunnelProblem

TheTunnelProblem

Thetunnelproblemsuggests thatsomeengineering problems cannot bereduced to

technical problems.

Eveniftherewasaneasytechnicalsolutionavailable forthetunnelproblem,itwouldbe

ethicallyproblematic toimplementit.

HardMoralCases

• Nocommonmeasurebetweenoptions• Noappealto“expertise”available• Highlycontextual• Thesecasesare“unsolvable”, unliketraditional technicalengineeringproblems.

• (Don’tworry:Wecansolve"unsolvable”problems)

BeyondTheTunnelProblem

Wecanmovefromthetunnelproblemtoidentifyingtunnel-like problemsthatare“unsolvable” inatechnicalsense(i.e.not

reducibletotechnicalproblems).

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Beyondthetunnelproblem:• Classic“trolley”problemsinvolvingvaluetrade-offs suchaschoosingbetweenharmingapersonridingabikeorapersonwalkingalongthesidewalk.

• Givingpatientsaccesstoon/offswitchesonimplantable, life-savingdeviceslikeInternalCardiacDefibrillators (ICDs).

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Beyondthetunnelproblem:• “Ditch”algorithms forunmannedaerialvehicles(UAVs)

• “geo-fencing” forUAVs• Privacysettingsforcontrollingdataflow• “deception” insocialrobotics

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?1. Rigorousapplicationofethicaltheories?

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?1. Rigorousapplicationofethicaltheories?– Thatwon’talwayshelp,sinceapplyingatheoryis

effectivelyatechnicalsolution.Theethicalproblempersists.

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?1. Rigorousapplicationofethicaltheories?2. Rigorousapplicationoflegalrequirements?

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?1. Rigorousapplicationofethicaltheories?2. Rigorousapplicationoflegalrequirements?

Legalactions Ethicalactions

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?1. Rigorousapplicationofethicaltheories?2. Rigorousapplicationoflegalrequirements?

Legalactions EthicalactionsManipulationPaternalismDeception

CivilDisobedienceEdwardSnowdenSomeeuthanasia

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?1. Rigorousapplicationofethicaltheories?2. Rigorousapplicationoflegalrequirements?– Thelawconstrainsourchoices,butsomelegalactionsareunethical.Worse,somelegal-unethicalactionscanunderminetrust.Sothiswon’talwayshelp.

“Unsolvable”EngineeringProblems

Howcanwesolvethem?1. Rigorousapplicationofethicaltheories?2. Rigorousapplicationoflegalrequirements?3. “Autonomybydesign”

AutonomyByDesign

• Abasicgoalofautonomybedesign:–Whennecessary,buildethicallyrobustmechanismsforuserchoiceand/orinformedconsentintothesystem.

• Tunnelproblem:– Peopleseemtowantsomelevelofindividualchoice

– Peoplewanttransparencyin“hard-coded”decisions (specificallyre.decisionsthattheythinkshouldbetheirstomake)

AutonomyByDesign

• Canbeillustratedbymeansofanothercasestudy.

InternalCardiacDefibrillators(ICDs)

• Cardiacdefibrillators• Somepeopleareathighriskforirregularcardiacrhythms

• Forthosepeople,ICDsareagoodoption

InternalCardiacDefibrillators(ICDs)

• Cardiacdefibrillators• Somepeopleareathighriskforirregularcardiacrhythms

• Forthosepeople,ICDsareagoodoption

• TheICDisalittleroboticdefibrillator

InternalCardiacDefibrillators(ICDs)

Case2:InternalCardiacDefibrillators(ICDs)

• Janeisathighriskoflife-threatening cardiacarrhythmias.• Beingotherwisehealthy,shereceivesanICD.• Threeyearslatershesuffersapainfulandterrifying,though

life-saving,ICDevent.• JustunderayearagoJanewasdiagnosedwithinoperable

cancerand,afterunsuccessfultreatments,isnowconsideringend-of-life palliativemeasures.

• Janeisaskedifshewantslife-savingmeasurestobeappliedintheeventthatshegoesintocardiacarrhythmia.

• JaneaskstohaveherICDturnedoff,butistolditmighttakeawhile.

Case2:InternalCardiacDefibrillators(ICDs)

Somequestionstohighlightthesimilaritytothetunnelproblem:1. Shouldweputanon/offswitchonICDs?2. Shouldithaveadefaultposition(e.g.“on”)?3. Whoshouldhaveaccesstotheswitch?4. WhogetstodecidewhethertheICDis“on”or

off?Howwouldyougoaboutansweringthesequestions?

Case2:InternalCardiacDefibrillators(ICDs)

Somequestionstohighlightthesimilaritytothetunnelproblem:1. Shouldweputanon/offswitchonICDs?2. AtanygiventimeshouldtheICDbe“on”or

“off”?3. Whoshouldhaveaccesstotheswitch?4. WhogetstodecidewhethertheICDis“on”or

off?Note:Noneofthesequestionscanbereducedtoatechnicalissue.

InternalCardiacDefibrillators(ICDs)

Let’sfocusonthefirstquestion…• Whydoyouthinkwewouldwantanon/offswitch?– Couldbetoreduceproductliabilityissuesincasesofmalfunction.

– But,importantly,couldalsobetoallowICDrecipienttomakeimportantlifechoices.

AutonomyByDesign

• Certainimportant lifechoicesoughtmorally tobelefttoeachindividual.

• Inmedicalethicsthisistermed“autonomy”,anditisacornerstoneoftheprofessionalcodes

• Hardmoralcasesthathaveno“right”answerarethesamekindsofcasesthatplacedautonomyatthecenterofmedicalethics

AutonomyByDesign

Ifengineersanddesignersareautomatinghardethicaldecision-making, thenweneedtodesignaccordingly.Weneedtorespectuserautonomy

inourdesign.

ThismeansengineersdoNOThavethemoralauthority tomakealldesigndecisions.

AutonomyByDesign

• WecandesigntheICDtoforceJaneintoastateofbeing,by:–Makingaccesstotheswitchdifficult– Removingtheswitch,orfailingtoprovideoneinthefirstplace

OR• wecandesignforautonomybyclarifyingtheseissuesupfrontinthedesignprocess

AutonomyByDesign

• wecandesignforautonomybyclarifyingtheseissuesupfrontinthedesignprocess

• “EmbeddedEthicist”model:– trainedinidentifyingvaluetradeoffsinthedesignphaseofatechnology

– Clearprocesstoallowethicalissuestoreceiveconsiderationduringdesign

– Develop“bestpractices”forstandardcasesandbuildethicsanalysiscapabilitiesondesignteam

AutonomyByDesign

• wecandesignforautonomybyclarifyingtheseissuesupfrontinthedesignprocess– Autonomouscarexample:• wecandisclosetousershowthecarisdesignedtodealwithvaluetradeoffs,or

• wecanprovidesettingsthatwouldallowtheusertomakegeneralpreferencesknown,or

• wecanlobbyforanticipatoryregulationintheautoindustry…

AutonomyByDesign

• wecandesignforautonomybyclarifyingtheseissuesupfrontinthedesignprocess– ICDexample:• wecanclarifyupfrontanswerstothequestionsthatwereraised,or

• wecoulddesigndecision-makingtoolstohelpphysiciansregularlyengagerecipientsabouttheirpreferenceslikeakindof“preventative”maintenancemodeltoavoid“ethicalmalfunctions”,or

• wecouldmaketheswitchrelativelyaccessible…

AutonomyByDesign

Attheendoftheday,autonomybydesignhelpsmanageusers’moralexpectationsbyallowingustodesigntechnologythatfitswellintotheir

morallives.

Thismakesforbetter,morecompetitivetechnologies.

Thankyou.

Moreinformation• Millar,J.(2014).“YouShouldHaveASayInYourRobotCar’sCodeof

Ethics.”WIRED.(Sept2).• Lin,P.(2014).“Here’saTerribleIdea:RobotCarsWithAdjustable

EthicsSettings.”WIRED. (Aug18).• Millar,J.(2014).“TechnologyasMoralProxy– Autonomyand

PaternalismbyDesign.”IEEEEthicsinEngineering,ScienceandTechnologyConferenceProceedings,IEEEExplore(online).

• Lin,P.,Abney,K.,Bekey,G.(2014).RobotEthics. (MITPress).• Rogaway,P.(2015).“TheMoralCharacterofCryptographicWork.”• Robohub.org• Openroboethics.org• Responsiblerobotics.org• http://jasonmillar.ca