If we try bearing in mind artificial intelligence, to create an algorithm of
Ethics a couple of interesting thoughts show up. First (1) is that any Ethics/morals seemingly can be programmed as a set of if-then rules of Action and feedback. Implementing this set does not require any scientific Base, so for this task we would feel quite comfortable with ethics as an art However what one notices these rules will never be complete and there will Always be situations when they fail and new rules are needed. Now if we Direct our sight from machines to humans, we can see these same rules in Action and their failure nearly every day. Systems of laws that people have Created to sustain various societies and nations are exactly such type of Rules. Inefficiency of this approach is "on the eye" looking at bulky Judicial systems and mechanisms created to enforce the laws. The situation Is becoming even more controversial as the system created to ensure ethical Behavior and morality of members of societies becomes more and more a Money-making machine for manipulating and overcoming these same laws. Ironically (3000 years passed by and not really much has changed since ;-) ) This has been described already in 600 BC: When the Way is forgotten Duty and justice appear; Then knowledge and wisdom are born Along with hypocrisy. When harmonious relationships dissolve Then respect and devotion arise; When a nation falls to chaos Then loyalty and patriotism are born. -Lao Tze (TaoDeJing). In our part of the World similar arguments were used by Plato in his Republic" discussing the necessity of formal system of ethical rules Enforced as laws. Nevertheless there exists an algorithm as a single rule (2) which however Can not be implemented in AI (yet) as it is based on self-reference (recursion) of consciousness by reflecting himself to the external world. As Machines (AI) do not yet posses conscious notion of "I" and "I feel", the Algorithm works in real living beings only ;-). The rule is really well Known: (do not) treat others like you want (not) yourself to be treated. This was and still is the base of the Christianity and the Western Civilization (before it become a political system with many new rules to be Obeyed and broken...) as well as of a few great thought systems, before they Became systems of rules and rituals, in the world. For example Lao Tze put It this way: The sage does not distinguish between himself and the world; The needs of other people are as his own. He is good to those who are good; He is also good to those who are not good, Thereby he is good. He trusts those who are trustworthy; He also trusts those who are not trustworthy, Thereby he is trustworthy. The sage lives in harmony with the world, And his mind is the world's mind. So he nurtures the worlds of others As a mother does her children. So indeed as the science is still not able to explain what the consciousness Is, how it functions and demonstrate it in an experiment (which might be Very unethical...), it is not able to grasp nor explain ethics holistically. Thus ethics is quite an independent domain of human knowing/experience. Is It closer to art, or maybe to religion, or anything else ?.. Best wishes Viktoras _______________________________________________ fis mailing list [email protected] http://webmail.unizar.es/mailman/listinfo/fis
