Why machine ethics?

Machine ethics, which is an emerging field that seeks to implement moral decision making faculties in computers and robots, is discussed. The rapid developments in increasingly complex autonomous software agents and robots have necessitated ethical decision making by the machines. The machine ethics helps an autonomous system recognize possible harmful consequences of an autonomous action thereby minimize harm by selecting its actions accordingly. Artificial moral agents (AMA) need to be incorporated in new autonomous technologies to manage their complexity. Implementing AMA involved a broad range of engineering, ethical, and legal considerations. Robotics and ethical laboratories are taking interest in studying applicability of decision making in artificial systems and the ethical validity of those decisions. Designing artificial systems that function convincingly and autonomously in real physical and social environments required logical representation of relevant facts.