The document discusses the ethical implications of exponential technology and emphasizes the need for equitable access and democratic regulation of technological advancements to ensure everyone benefits. It explores themes such as the definition and value of human life, machine ethics, democratic transhumanism, and the importance of moral reasoning in technology. Additionally, it raises questions about autonomy, happiness, and the evolving relationship between humans and technology.

1. Exponential Technology
How can we make sure
everyone benefits?
Dr. Matthijs Pontier

2. Content
• Why should everyone benefit?
• How do we make sure everyone benefits?
• Democratic Transhumanism
• Machine Ethics
• When we succeed  New ethical dilemma’s
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

3. Why should everyone benefit?
Who is everyone?
• Does life matter?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

4. Why should everyone benefit?
Who is everyone?
• What is life, anyway?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016

5. Why should everyone benefit?
Who is everyone?
• Does life matter?
• What is life, anyway?
• Does human life matter?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016

6. Why should everyone benefit?
Who is everyone?
• Does life matter?
• What is life, anyway?
• Does human life matter?
• Do human individuals matter?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016

7. Why build technology?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

8. Why build technology?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

9. Why build technology?

10. Why build technology?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

11. Why build technology?
• Evolutionary progress
• Preserve (human) life
• To preserve human rights
• To improve our well-being
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

12. Why build technology?
• Evolutionary progress
– Description of a process or goal in itself?
• Preserve (human) life
• To preserve human rights
• To improve our well-being
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

13. Why build technology?
• Evolutionary progress / Preserve humans
• To preserve human rights
• To improve our well-being
• Hedonic utilitarianism?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016

14. Why build technology?
• Evolutionary progress / Preserve humans
• To preserve human rights
• To improve our well-being
• Hedonic utilitarianism?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016

15. Brave New World

16. Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

17. How do we promote happiness?

18. Promoting happiness:
Kill all unhappy people?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

19. Promoting happiness:
Improving autonomy?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

20. How do we promote autonomy?
• If everyone uses cognitive enhancers,
do you still have a free choice to use it yourself?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human?

21. Democratic Transhumanism
(or Techno-progressivism)
• “Technological developments can be
profoundly empowering and emancipatory when they are regulated by
legitimate democratic and accountable authorities to ensure that
their costs, risks and benefits are all fairly shared by the
actual stakeholders to those developments”
• Equal access to human enhancement technologies

22. Machine Ethics
• Machines are becoming more autonomous
 Rosalind Picard (1997): ‘‘The greater the freedom of a
machine, the more it will need moral standards.’’
• Machines interact more with people
We should manage that machines do not harm us or
threaten our autonomy
22Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

23. SELEMCA
• Develop ‘Caredroids’: Robots or Computer Agents
that assist Patients and Care-deliverers
23Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

24. Possible functionalities
• Care-broker: Find care that matches need patient
• Companion: Become friends with the patient to prevent
loneliness and activate the patient
• Coach: Assist the patient in making healthy choices:
Exercising, Eating healthy, Taking medicine, etc.
24

25. Moral reasoning system
We developed moral reasoning system that balances
between several moral goals
Decisions matched medical-ethical experts
25Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

26. Autonomy
26
Results:
Able to simulate judge
decisions about:
•Assertive outreach
•Judicial coercion after self-
binding declaration
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

27. Emotional Intelligence
+ Moral Reasoning:
Decisions based on:
1. Rational influences
– Does action help me to reach my goals?
2. Affective influences
– Does action lead to desired emotions?
– Does action reflect Involvement I feel towards user?
– Does action reflect Distance I feel towards user?
3. Moral reasoning
– Is this action morally good?
27Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

28. Speed-dating Experiment
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

30. Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

31. Why software should be
open-soure
• Algorithms and robots will increasingly influence our lives
• Who controls the programmers
• Good ideas are made to be copied
Creating extra value with no extra costs
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016

32. Why we should have mandatory
Machine Ethics
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

33. Why we should have mandatory
Machine Ethics
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

34. Why we should have mandatory
Machine Ethics
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016

35. Why we should have mandatory
Machine Ethics
• AI-Safety
• Make sure the intelligence explosion benefits us
• Democratically decide about ethics technology

36. What if we succeed:
Is a changed you still you?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

37. Who wants to live forever?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

38. If you lived forever
Would you be happy?
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

39. Time

40. In Time
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

41. Book: Machine Medical Ethics
41
• How to develop robots with human-like
ethics?
• Need for Open Source
• How to use healthcare tech in a way that
improves well-being
• Changed doctor-patient relation
• Deep Brain Stimulation
• Sex-robots
• Etc.
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

42. Pirate Party & Tech-ethics
• Make sure technology
improves well-being
• Autonomy / Freedom
• Privacy
• Human rights
• Transparency
• Open source / Open Data
• E-democracy
• Evidence-based policy
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn

43. Thanks!
•
@Matthijs85
•
Matthijs Pontier
•
matthijs@piratenpartij.nl
•
http://camera-vu.nl/matthijs
•
http://www.linkedin.com/in/
matthijspontier
Matthijs Pontier, Leiden, 27-2-2016
Where is the boundary of the human? The new technological turn