Computers, Ethics and Society

Please choose three of the following four questions and provide approximately one page or argument, single spaced, for each answer. Each answer is worth up to one hundred points, thus making it worth up to three hundred points.

1. Artificial Intelligence, it is claimed, has its foundation in the Scientific Modern conception of mind. That is, given the mechanical view of mind argued for, in albeit different ways, of Descartes, and Hobbes, it is claimed that thinking being like computation ,offers an appropriate model for claiming non-human devices can think, in a similar fashion as human beings.

Further supporting this claim is the idea advanced by David Hume, that when we consider the processes of thinking it is not necessary to make any claims about the nature of the entity that is thinking.

The question to be asked here is: is such a model of thinking sufficient to claim the reality of artificial intelligence? In your answer you may wish to draw on the relevance, or irrelevance of the Turing Test, which claims that singular feature of thinking, is the use of language. That is, some would claim, that thee is an isomorphism between human thinking and machine thinking.

2. What might you see as an overriding ethical issue associated with the possible further development of Artificial Intelligence? That is, is there something unique and different about Artificial Intelligence which may demand that new ethical frameworks need be developed? You may wish to consider the use of Artificial Intelligence in terms of military usage, or economic management on a global scale.

3. It can be claimed that there are three ethical central views which have developed in concert with the scientific world view; they are: Contractualism, Utilitarianism, and Deontology, or Kantianism. In addition, there is the ancient view of Virtue Ethics which may be of interest as well.

In your essay you may wish to reference the critique or support of the idea that the "new-wine" of computer information problems, especially in regard to Artificial Intelligence, is problematic.

4. Friedrich Nietzsche offers a sustained critique of the tradition forms of morality. He will argue that each of the modern views lacks historical engagement, and that thusly they are flawed in their arguments. He offers instead to engage the concept of Power, as being of foremost interest in assessing any moral stance.

To do so he offers four key concepts (master morality, slave morality, ressentiment, and the priestly class) which he affirms as necessary to understanding ethical development.

Does Nietzsche's critique have validity in your eyes? In you answer you may wish to assess his concept of master an slave morality, and the related concepts of ressentiment, and the priestly class, and how such concepts may apply to any ethical program.