Robotic Responsibility

Abstract

This paper considers the question of whether humanoid robots may legitimately be viewed as moral agents capable of participating in the moral community. I defend the view that, in a strict sense, i.e., one informed by the fundamental criteria for moral agency, they cannot, but that they may, nonetheless, be incorporated into the moral community in another way. Specifically, I contend that they can be considered to be responsible for moral action upon an expanded view of collective responsibility, which I develop in the paper.