Contemporary Virtue Ethics and the Engineers of Autonomous Systems

The explosion of innovations in autonomous systems along with widespread hybridization of ICT (information and communications technology) with sensor/actuator systems poses a wide spectrum of potential benefits and threats to human flourishing. The human qualities studied by virtue ethics-e.g., personal character and habits of acting and choosing with practical wisdom so as to promote human flourishing-are required to engage successfully in ethical design of these autonomous systems, especially those that are used in safety-critical situations. This paper examines two contemporary theories of virtue ethics, exemplarism and global technosocial ethics, and argues that when combined they provide methods for engineers to develop, enhance, and put into practice the needed human qualities. The paper explores ways that engineering professional organizations can support engineers in this process, leveraging their publication, publicity, and standards-making capabilities to provide exemplars and case histories of ethical designs to aid engineers in virtue cultivation. Finally, the potential role of contemporary virtue ethics in emerging standards for design of ethical software is described.