# Practical Challenges in Explicit Ethical Machine Reasoning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1801.01422 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.01422/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 4 Jan 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Immune Moral Models? Pro-Social Rule Breaking as a Moral Enhancement Approach for Ethical AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.04022/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We examine implemented systems for ethical machine reasoning with a view to identifying the practical challenges (as opposed to philosophical challenges) posed by the area. We identify a need for complex ethical machine reasoning not only to be multi-objective, proactive, and scrutable but that it must draw on heterogeneous evidential reasoning. We also argue that, in many cases, it needs to operate in real time and be verifiable. We propose a general architecture involving a declarative ethical arbiter which draws upon multiple evidential reasoners each responsible for a particular ethical feature of the system's environment. We claim that this architecture enables some separation of concerns among the practical challenges that ethical machine reasoning poses.