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The Dawn of the AI Robots: Towards a New Framework of AI Robot Accountability

Author

Listed:
  • Zsófia Tóth

    (Durham University)

  • Robert Caruana

    (University of Nottingham)

  • Thorsten Gruber

    (University of Loughborough)

  • Claudia Loebbecke

    (University of Cologne)

Abstract

Business, management, and business ethics literature pay little attention to the topic of AI robots. The broad spectrum of potential ethical issues pertains to using driverless cars, AI robots in care homes, and in the military, such as Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems. However, there is a scarcity of in-depth theoretical, methodological, or empirical studies that address these ethical issues, for instance, the impact of morality and where accountability resides in AI robots’ use. To address this dearth, this study offers a conceptual framework that interpretively develops the ethical implications of AI robot applications, drawing on descriptive and normative ethical theory. The new framework elaborates on how the locus of morality (human to AI agency) and moral intensity combine within context-specific AI robot applications, and how this might influence accountability thinking. Our theorization indicates that in situations of escalating AI agency and situational moral intensity, accountability is widely dispersed between actors and institutions. ‘Accountability clusters’ are outlined to illustrate interrelationships between the locus of morality, moral intensity, and accountability and how these invoke different categorical responses: (i) illegal, (ii) immoral, (iii) permissible, and (iv) supererogatory pertaining to using AI robots. These enable discussion of the ethical implications of using AI robots, and associated accountability challenges for a constellation of actors—from designer, individual/organizational users to the normative and regulative approaches of industrial/governmental bodies and intergovernmental regimes.

Suggested Citation

  • Zsófia Tóth & Robert Caruana & Thorsten Gruber & Claudia Loebbecke, 2022. "The Dawn of the AI Robots: Towards a New Framework of AI Robot Accountability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 895-916, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:178:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05050-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05050-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Arsenyan, Jbid & Mirowska, Agata & Piepenbrink, Anke, 2023. "Close encounters with the virtual kind: Defining a human-virtual agent coexistence framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    2. Esmat Zaidan & Imad Antoine Ibrahim, 2024. "AI Governance in a Complex and Rapidly Changing Regulatory Landscape: A Global Perspective," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Benjamin Mueller, 2022. "Corporate Digital Responsibility," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(5), pages 689-700, October.
    4. Michael Haenlein & Ming-Hui Huang & Andreas Kaplan, 2022. "Guest Editorial: Business Ethics in the Era of Artificial Intelligence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 867-869, July.

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