# Logic Programming and Machine Ethics

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.11186 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.11186/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 22 Sep 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [A Logic-based Multi-agent System for Ethical Monitoring and Evaluation of Dialogues](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.08294/) (2021)
- [Ensuring trustworthy and ethical behaviour in intelligent logical agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.07547/) (2024)
- [MoralityGym: A Benchmark for Evaluating Hierarchical Moral Alignment in Sequential Decision-Making Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.13372/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Transparency is a key requirement for ethical machines. Verified ethical behavior is not enough to establish justified trust in autonomous intelligent agents: it needs to be supported by the ability to explain decisions. Logic Programming (LP) has a great potential for developing such perspective ethical systems, as in fact logic rules are easily comprehensible by humans. Furthermore, LP is able to model causality, which is crucial for ethical decision making.