Minds, Machines and Morals

This generation has borne witness to a veritable explosion in the use of computing technologies in almost every aspect of life. Philosophers, scientists, and technologists/engineers have an important role to play in addressing the foundational questions that arise on the inexorable march toward intelligent machines. This year’s theme is “Minds, Machines and Morals.”  Questions regarding the status of machines as moral agents and patients press on us as we envision a future filled with self-driving cars, robotic surgeons, health-care providers, and online computational surrogates. According to what principles should they behave, if any?  How much autonomy should they be granted, and how might they interact with human partners before, during, and after engaging in action accompanied by moral deliberation?  What is the nature of the folk concepts that drive our ordinary ascriptions of blame and praise?  Is it necessary for machines to be sensitive to the vicissitudes of human moral cognition in context, and if so, how might these be computationally instantiated in systems built to work side-by-side with people?  Finally, how can traditional moral philosophy contribute to this emerging picture of human-machine interaction? We encourage the submission of novel work on these and related issues.  We remain especially interested in the kind of interdisciplinary investigations that have been typical of our meetings as we seek to reach out to cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, social
psychologists and experimental philosophers in further developing our understanding of moral minds and moral machines. Work in other areas traditionally of interest to the computing and philosophy community is invited as well.

Important Dates

• Standard registration period (TBD)
• Late registration period (TBD)
• Conference: July 15-17 2013

Contact: [email protected].

The 2013 meeting will be held starting July 15th and ending July 17th at the Marriott Inn and Conference Center. Room rates are roughly expected to be $130 USD per night.  The hotel website can be found herehttp://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wasum-the-marriott-inn-and-conference-center-university-of-maryland-university-college/>, complete with links to information about local airports and transportation options.  We will be regularly updating the website with information for travelers, maps, area guides and information about local attractions.

Registration

Rates are TBD (expected to be roughly $200 USD), but will include continental breakfast, lunch selection, afternoon snack and hot/cold beverages throughout the day.