Computational Agent Responsibility
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Computer Science
Abstract
Engineered systems are becoming more complex and, increasingly, more autonomous. Once they are allowed, or even required, to make their own decisions a wide range of issues concerning safety, ethics and trustworthiness come to the fore. Users are unlikely to trust these systems while regulators are unlikely to even allow their deployment without strong evidence concerning decisions that autonomous systems can make and the subsequent actions they can take.
Our work on the development and analysis of hybrid agent architectures for autonomous systems has shown how strong (formal) verification can be carried out upon core decision-making in systems constructed in a suitable manner. Our approach has also been used to capture and verify certain "ethical" decisions the autonomous system might make, which are especially important when the system is confronted by critical decisions in unforeseen situations and must decide on good/bad actions.
However, it has become clear that simple versions of ethical principles, such as good/bad or right/wrong, are insufficient and that we need stronger concepts of "responsibility" in practice. Such issues are well-studied in Philosophy, though mainly through the lens of human morality or legal accountability. In this project we aim to identify and develop suitable notions of "responsibility" that are consistent with views from Philosophy but that can also be used within computational agents at the heart of our autonomous systems. In doing this, we pave the way for formal verification of responsibility, sophisticated explanations and, crucially, the use of responsibilities as a driver for agent decisions and actions. Thus, our central aim is to devise a framework for autonomous systems responsibility that is philosophically justifiable, effectively implementable, and practically verifiable.
Our work on the development and analysis of hybrid agent architectures for autonomous systems has shown how strong (formal) verification can be carried out upon core decision-making in systems constructed in a suitable manner. Our approach has also been used to capture and verify certain "ethical" decisions the autonomous system might make, which are especially important when the system is confronted by critical decisions in unforeseen situations and must decide on good/bad actions.
However, it has become clear that simple versions of ethical principles, such as good/bad or right/wrong, are insufficient and that we need stronger concepts of "responsibility" in practice. Such issues are well-studied in Philosophy, though mainly through the lens of human morality or legal accountability. In this project we aim to identify and develop suitable notions of "responsibility" that are consistent with views from Philosophy but that can also be used within computational agents at the heart of our autonomous systems. In doing this, we pave the way for formal verification of responsibility, sophisticated explanations and, crucially, the use of responsibilities as a driver for agent decisions and actions. Thus, our central aim is to devise a framework for autonomous systems responsibility that is philosophically justifiable, effectively implementable, and practically verifiable.
Publications
Fisher A.R.J.
(2022)
Perspectives on the Philosophy of David K Lewis
Fisher M
(2022)
AI Journal Special Issue on Ethics for Autonomous Systems
in Artificial Intelligence
Joe Collenette
(2022)
Advising Autonomous Cars about the Rules of the Road
Rafael C. Cardoso
(2022)
Extending Attack-Fault Trees with Runtime Verification
Description | We are particularly exploring prospective responsibility - responsibility for future decisions and actions - both within human agents and computational agents. In particular, taking philosophical views on (human) responsibilitiy and, where possible, utilising these for computational agents but correspondingly using computational agents to explore philosophical issues around responsibility, ethics, agency, etc. In practical terms, we use these computational agents as the core decision-makers in autonomous systems, and specifically target transparency, verifiability, beneficiality. We have developed a new, inter-disciplinary model of computational responsibility (with publications being developed) leading to the organisation of several relevant workshops across Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy and Robotics, in Germany (https://www.dagstuhl.de/23371), in Manchester (https://joecol.github.io/FormRes) and in Japan (https://tinyurl.com/ResponsibleRobotics). |
Exploitation Route | The organisation of several relevant workshops across Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy and Robotics, in Germany (https://www.dagstuhl.de/23371), in Manchester (https://joecol.github.io/FormRes) and in Japan (https://tinyurl.com/ResponsibleRobotics). |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Other |
Description | Work contributed to the Edinburgh Declaration on Responsibility for Responsible AI |
First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | Chair of British Standards Institution: BS8622 Committee on Sustainable Robotics |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | New standard on Sustainable Robotics being published in 2023 |
Description | Co-Chair of IEEE Technical Committee on the Verificaiton of Autonomous Systems |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
URL | https://www.ieee-ras.org/verification-of-autonomous-systems |
Description | Membership of IEEE P7009 Standards committee on "Failsafe Design of Autonomous Systems" |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
URL | https://standards.ieee.org/project/7009.html |
Description | Secondment to DSIT |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Description | A Pluralist Account of Blame |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a research talk to a professional philosophers at the Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | International Transport Forum Round Table on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Regulation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | ITF-OECD roundtables are closed events designed to provide a forum for experts in a specific area of transport policy to exchange views and ideas in depth. I attended this round table and was invited to give a short presentation on Algorithmic Bias and participate in discussions around the regulation of Autonomous Vehicles and both Ethical and Technical issues with their verification and assurance. My slides were made available to other participants and I will be contributing to the resulting report that will be circulated to member countries of the ITF. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Inward Visit to Computer Science from Laurus Ryecroft Academy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | An inward visit of Year 9 students. Students attended a short lecture on Computer Graphics, toured the Cognitive Robotics Lab and undertook a Mars Rover themed programming activity. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Anderton Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Callands Primary |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Cathedral School of St. Peter and St. Paul |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in a primary school prompting interesting questions from children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Chorlton Primary |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Co-op Academy Medlock |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Mars Rover themed programming workshops involving Lego Robots delivered to after school coding club. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Croston Cub and Beaver Scouts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered at the regular Cub Scout event themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Heaton School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Lego Rover programming activity delivered to SEND students at a Special Needs school. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Lego Rovers at John Fisher Catholic High School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Kingsway Primary Academy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Lego Robot programming activity delivered in a primary school prompting interesting questions and discussion from children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Middlewich High School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Five Mars Rover themed programming workshops involving Lego Robots delivered to Year 7. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Plymouth Grove Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Rushbrook Primary Academy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at ScienceX |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Drop-in stand involving programming Lego Rovers at University Science Event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at St Paul's Primary School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at St. Helens Bever Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lego Robot programming activity delivered to a Beaver Scout group. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Lego Rovers at St. Mary's Blackbrook |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at St. Saviors |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Lego Robot programming workshop run for children in years 3-6. Sparked interesting questions from the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Lego Rovers at St. Teresa's Catholic Primary |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Stargazing |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lego Robot stand at the World Museum, Liverpool in support of their Stargazing Event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at University of Manchester Community Fair |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity themed around Mars Rovers, delivered as a drop-in stand. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at Weston Village Primary |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity delivered in school themed around Mars Rovers. Sparked discussion and questions form the children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Lego Rovers at the World Museum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Robot programming activity themed around Mars Rovers delivered as family workshops at the World Museum. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Stargazing at the World Museum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lego Robot programming activity as a stand at an evening event at a Museum. Prompted engagement from several teenagers in programming tasks and problems. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | U3A talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Gave a talk to the Cheadle "University of the Third Age" group around AI and Robotics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Workshop organisation/chairing |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Co-organised the first internaitonal workshop on "Neuro-symbolic AI for Agent and Multi-Agent systems" [NeSyMAS] in May 2023. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://albertmeronyo.github.io/nesymas23/ |
Description | Workshop organisation/chairing |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Co-organised a Dagstuhl Seminar aiming to develop a "Roadmap for Responsible Robotics" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.dagstuhl.de/23371 |