Computational Models of Ethical Reasoning: Challenges, Initial Steps, and Future Directions

How can machines support or, even more significantly, replace humans in performing ethical reasoning? This question greatly interests machine ethics researchers. Imbuing a computer with the ability to reason about ethical problems and dilemmas is as difficult a task as there is for AI scientists and engineers. The author briefly describes a few of the programs and discusses in detail two programs, both of which employ techniques from the area of AI known as case-based reasoning and implement aspects of the ethical approach known as casuistry. One of these programs, Truth-Teller, accepts a pair of ethical dilemmas and describes the salient similarities and differences between them, from both an ethical and a pragmatic perspective. The other program, SIROCCO, accepts a single ethical dilemma and retrieves other cases and ethical principles that might be relevant