Ethics in autonomous robots as philosophy in silico: The study case of phronetic machine ethics

Abstract

The paper explores the application of computing science to the modeling of the ethical concepts. The modeling in computers is denoted as in silico modeling. The in silico method has found applications in biology, chemistry, cosmology, sociology among others. The applications of in silico modeling to philosophical problems (like ethics) are rather infrequent. Yet, the approach discussed in the paper holds the promise of not only facilitating the development of ethical robotics but it also may provide the insights into the philosophical problems themselves (by explicating their implicit structures). The paper provides also a brief overview of the concept of modeling in silico in historical and current contexts