Wendell Wallach
Lecturer, Yale's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics
Wendell Wallach is a lecturer and consultant at Yale University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Before coming to Yale, Wendell was a founder and the President of two computer consulting companies, Farpoint Solutions and Omnia Consulting Inc. Among the clients served by Mr. Wallach's companies were PepsiCo International, United Aircraft, and the State of Connecticut. At Yale University, Wendell chairs the working research group on Technology and Ethics, leads a seminar for bioethics interns, and functions as a senior coordinator for other working groups and projects. He has lectured worldwide, published many articles, and is presently writing two books. Cybersoul explores the ways in which cognitive science and the Information Age are altering our understanding of human decision-making and ethics. Machine Morality: From Aristotle to Asimov and Beyond, which Wendell is co-authoring and which will be published by MIT Press, explores the prospects for designing computer systems capable of making moral decisions. Wendell is recognized as one of the leaders in the new field of Machine Ethics, and designed the first course anywhere on this subject, which he has taught twice at Yale.
At the 2007 Singularity Summit in San Francisco, hosted by the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, he delivered a presentation called "The Road to Singularity: Comedic Complexity, Technological Thresholds, and Bioethical Broad Jumps." The talk centered on potential complications affecting artificial intelligence forecasting. Implementing higher order cognitive faculties in AI presumes that theories about the computational nature of mind are valid, that known technological issues can be solved, that there are no major surprise technological thresholds that will need to be crossed, and that computer scientists and public officials will find ways to navigate a broad array of ethical challenges. While some of these concerns have received considerable attention, others are just beginning to be noted.
The ethical challenges, he believes, have not been well addressed. From robots carrying weapons, to moral decision making faculties for AI, to institutional review boards for robotic research, and political resistance to some categories of AI research, the bioethical challenges, if not addressed, could potentially undermine funding and public support for advanced AI systems. Progress in developing moral decision making faculties for computers is one area that engineers and designers can begin to tackle, and which will have a significant impact. The successful development of artificial moral agents (AMAs) is a major step that will help ameliorate other societal concerns regarding the development of advanced AI. The pathways for implementing moral decision making faculties in AI include top-down, bottom-up, and hybrid approaches. In addition, AMAs may require supra-rational faculties, such as social skills, emotions, consciousness, and a theory of mind.
video
2007 Singularity Summit, The Road to the Singularity
transcripts
2007 Singularity Summit, The Road to the Singularity
audio
Transvision 2003, "Robot Morals: Creating an Artificial Moral Agent (AMA)"
Podcast Network, G'Day World #261, Wendell Wallach on AI Ethics
2007 Singularity Summit, "The Road to Singularity"