CS 4002
Robots and Society
Homework #1

Due: Tuesday, January 29 2008 @ 9:30AM

Submission: Email your answers to the TA (zkira @ cc) no later than 9:30 AM 1/29/2008. Homework submitted after this time will not be accepted or graded.

Recall that you read the Introduction to Ethics by Mike Quinn for class. For this homework, please provide a brief answer (1 paragraph at most) to the first four questions. For the last question, answer it in detail in at most four paragraphs.

Answer each of the following questions. Please type your answers. A hardcopy of this homework is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, January 29. 

  1. (15 pt, From Quinn chapter, question #12). What is the difference between a consequentialist and a non-consequentialist theory?
  2. (15 pt, From Quinn chapter, question #21). Describe the similarities and differences between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.
  3. (15 pt) In your own words, state what the Categorical Imperatives that are part of Kantianism mean and represent? (Do not simply quote or paraphrase the statement in the article).
  4. (15 pt) Describe a situation that you would argue to be ethical from a consequentialist (act-utilitarian or rule-utilitarian) perspective, but not from a virtue ethics perspective. Briefly describe why there is a difference.
  5. (40 pt) According to the AFP (a French News Agency), a company called Taser France is planning on developing a saucer-like flying drone that can fire Taser stun rounds (see the last paragraph of the linked article). Research this and related technology online, and state the assumptions that you are using for your answers below (e.g. lethality, whether the drone will be human-controlled, etc.).

Using both act utilitarianism and Kantianism, assess whether the use of a taser stun equipped drone for crowd-control is an ethical use of robotics or not. Who are the stakeholders and how are they affected? What are the issues and consequences? Explain how you arrived at your conclusion using both of the ethical perspectives separately (and be very specific). Does the conclusion differ between the two ethical theories? Why or why not?