Embedding ethics in software cannot guarantee lawful conduct because software is reprogrammable.

Evidence

But to claim, as they do, that the law can be integrated into “weapon design” itself is a gross abuse of language. All that the roboethicists can do is integrate certain rules within the design of certain programs, which clearly can be uninstalled or reprogrammed at any time. If you are capable of doing this on your own computer, you can be sure that every army in the world is likewise capable of doing so. The discursive operation here consists in justifying the development of highly dangerous hardware by offering the option of virtuous software. Congratulations: in buying the car (or rather the robot tank), you have also won a magnificent key ring. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 668 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Asimov dramatizes the unintended ethical consequences of rule-based machine ethics, foreshadowing contemporary debates about value alignment and the impossibility of fully specifying human values for autonomous agents. Each story functions as a thought experiment about the gap between intended and emergent behavior in artificial agents. — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 1591 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Embedding laws in software is an abuse of language since programs are always reprogrammable — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 668; Rule-based machine ethics produce unintended emergent consequences — , The Braided Reading EPUB: 5-Year…, 1591; Ethical rules for robots require human specifications of their key variables — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 676 (+3 more)

Related

• Embedding laws in software is an abuse of language since programs are always reprogrammable (similarity 0.89)
• Ethical rules for robots require human specifications of their key variables (similarity 0.86)
• Rule-based machine ethics produce unintended emergent consequences (similarity 0.85)
• Correct action requires coding rules, matching repertoires, and sufficient information. (similarity 0.81)
• The concept of Asimov’s robot laws requires reevaluation in modern contexts. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Embedding laws in software is an abuse of language since programs are always reprogrammable #corroborates (0.95) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 668
• Trust cannot be governed by clear-cut ethical instruction #complicates (0.75)
• Rule-based machine ethics produce unintended emergent consequences #qualifies (0.50) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 1591
• Ethical rules for robots require human specifications of their key variables #expands (0.40) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 676