Library Journal
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Dumouchel (philosophy, Ritsumeikan Univ., Japan) and Damiano's (logic & philosophy of science, Univ. of Messina, Italy) book is a thoughtful and engaging discussion about an emerging area in applied ethics-social robotics. As technology advances, the authors contend that some robots will not merely act as tools but will interact with human beings in "socially meaningful" ways, fulfilling roles that have traditionally involved relationships among people, with artificial intelligences acting as educators, caregivers, and pseudoagents. The authors argue that a sufficiently competent social artificial intelligence will be able to play robust agent-like roles, be attentive to differences in persons, and possess a degree of autonomy. However, they suggest that this does not require robots to possess the same internal mechanisms as humans or understand human emotions. Instead, the authors advocate focusing on how robots act, rather than their internal capacities and motivations. This engaging and substantive text is accessible to nonacademic audiences and rife with useful cultural touchstones that explore common hopes and fears revolving around artificial intelligences and robots. VERDICT A timely and well-written volume that addresses many contemporary and future moral questions regarding how we treat artificial intelligence. Recommended for all audiences.-William Simkulet, Cleveland State Univ., OH © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

The scientific appeal of this book is significant. At its heart is the premise that ethical innovation is important and desirable. Dumouchel (Ritsumeikan Univ., Japan) and Damiano (Univ. of Messina, Italy), both philosophers, are convinced that innovations will enrich our future, not threaten it. The dystopian scenarios propagated by many scientists, visionaries, and sci-fi authors are less likely to happen when artificial agents coevolve with their biological counterparts. Social interaction between robots, intelligent computer systems, or other artificial agents will be a platform for researching and creating new ethical norms. New synthetic ethical systems or programmed illusions will emerge from that process, leading to autonomous agents demonstrating positive moral character. Compellingly, the authors ask what social robotics and developments in artificial empathy research can teach us about who we are and how to live together. There are many exciting developments on the horizon; the technologies supporting extended mind concepts will create diverse cognitive systems capable of deep affective reasoning. Dumouchel and Damiano pose many deep philosophical questions about the future of robotics and humanity; very few answers are known today. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals. --Jack Brzezinski, McHenry County College