Research
Piloting Methods

Trustworthy Autonomous Systems

Collaborative ethics for more secure and trusted AS design

National Highways (UK), Department of Sociology, Lancaster University (UK), Department of Computer Science, Cranfield University (UK)

Lead by: Luke Robert Moffat

This work was done as part of the Security Node of UKRI funded project Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS-S), leading a research strand on the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of Autonomous and/or Intelligent Systems. It positions ethics as a speculative, contextual, and reiterative process requiring collaboration and an embrace of uncertainty. It aims to facilitate a transition from ethical values to ethical conduct. In collaboration with Computer Scientists, Engineers, Sociologists, and Psychologists, we designed creative methods for engagement with ethics beyond academia across 3 types: creative workshops, external stakeholder consultations, and public engagement.

TAS-S partnered with National Highways, the biggest road authority in the UK, facilitating the co-creation of an ethical impact assessment toolkit, which provides resources and guidance for anticipatory ethics, responsive to the rapidly changing landscape of UK road infrastructures. 

For more on TAS

For more on TAS Security

Related Publications:

Moffat, L., Guo, W., Tang, Y., May-Chahal, C., and Deville, J., ‘Encoding Social & Ethical Values in Autonomous Navigation: Philosophies Behind an Interactive Online Demonstration’ ACM Proceedings of TAS24 available here

Moffat, L. ‘Relational Approaches to Autonomous Systems Ethics’, Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems pp. 22-28 available here

Abeywickrama, D.B., Bennaceur, A., Chance, G., Demiris, Y., Kordoni, A., Levine, M., Moffat, L., Moreau, L., Mousavi, M.R., Nuseibeh, B. and Ramamoorthy, S. ‘On Specifying for Trustworthiness’. arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.11421. available here