A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Innocence over utilitarianism : heightened moral standards for robots in rescue dilemmas
Authors: Sundvall Jukka, Drosinou Marianna, Hännikäinen Ivar, Elovaara Kaisa, Halonen Juho, Herzon Volo, Kopecký Robin, Košová Michaela Jirout, Koverola Mika, Kunnari Anton, Perander Silva, Saikkonen Teemu, Palomäki Jussi, Laakasuo Michael
Publisher: WILEY
Publication year: 2023
Journal: European Journal of Social Psychology
Journal name in source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Journal acronym: EUR J SOC PSYCHOL
Number of pages: 26
ISSN: 0046-2772
eISSN: 1099-0992
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2936
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2936
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/179319931
Research in moral psychology has found that robots, more than humans, are expected to make utilitarian decisions. This expectation is found specifically when contrasting utilitarian action to deontological inaction. In a series of eight experiments (total N = 3752), we compared judgments about robots' and humans' decisions in a rescue dilemma with no possibility of deontological inaction. A robot's decision to rescue an innocent victim of an accident was judged more positively than the decision to rescue two people culpable for the accident (Studies 1-2b). This pattern repeated in a large-scale web survey (Study 3, N = similar to 19,000) and reversed when all victims were equally culpable/innocent (Study 5). Differences in judgments about humans' and robots' decisions were largest for norm-violating decisions. In sum, robots are not always expected to make utilitarian decisions, and their decisions are judged differently from those of humans based on other moral standards as well.
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