Modern society mainly relies on automated systems and artificial intelligence. It is a part of our daily life and shows no signs of slowing down, in fact, the use of robotics and automatic assistance is increasing. This widespread use of artificial intelligence confronts technologists and developers with two ethical dilemmas: How do we create robots that act on our values ​​and how do we stop them from abusing them?

According to one author, an unexplored option is to encode more humanity into robots by endowment them with traits such as empathy and compassion.

Is humanity the answer?

In a new book, Spirits of Robots, published in August, author and scientist Dr Eve Poole OBE explores the idea that the solution to the societal puzzle of how to make sure AI is ethical lies in human nature.

Poole argues that in their pursuit of perfection, people get rid of “junk codes” including emotions, agency, and a sense of purpose. Poole said, “This ‘trash’ is at the heart of humanity. Our trivial code consists of human emotions, our tendency to make mistakes, our tendency to tell stories, our uncanny sixth sense, our ability to deal with uncertainty, our unwavering sense of agency, and our ability to see meaning in the world around us. ”

“This garbage code is actually vital to human development, because behind all these deceptive and fancy features is a coordinated effort to keep our species safe. Together, they act as a series of reinforcers with a common theme: they hold us together because there is security in numbers. .

souls of robots

With artificial intelligence playing an increasing role in decision making in our daily lives and growing concerns about bias and discrimination in artificial intelligence, Dr Poole says the answer may lie in what we are trying to extract from autonomous machines.

Poole says: “If we can decipher that code that drives us all to survive and thrive together as a species, we can share it with machines. Giving them a soul for any purpose.”

In a new book, Poole proposes a series of next steps to make this a reality, including a strict regulatory process and agreement on an immediate ban on autonomous weapons, as well as a licensing regime with rules that leave any final life-or-death decisions. He argues that before then we should also agree on the legal personality criteria and roadmap for AI.

human plan

“We neglected many features when creating AI because humans are flawed,” Poole explains. “Robots with emotions and intuition, which make mistakes and seek meaning and purpose, were also thought to not work.”

“But if you think about why all these irrational features exist, they seem to originate from the source code of the soul. Because in reality, this “junk” code is what fuels the mutual altruism that makes us human and keeps humanity alive and well. rich”. Robot Souls examines the evolution of artificial intelligence and the emergence of the ideas of consciousness and soul.

He puts our “junk code” in this context and argues that the time has come to highlight this code and use it to take a fresh look at how we program AI.