Can Robots Make Moral Decisions? Ft. Dr. Sean Welsh w/Anita Nowak - Purposeful Empathy

Episode #6 of Empathy in the Age of AI, a special 25-part series: https://tinyurl.com/exyw2nua AI is impacting every part of our lives—and we need to start paying more attention.Listen to this grounded conversation with Dr. Sean Welsh, a philosopher and computer programmer whose work sits at the intersection of robotics, machine ethics, and moral decision-making.We discuss:If robots and AI systems can make moral and ethical decisionsThe risks of anthropomorphism and emotional intimacy with AIWhether AI will create mass unemployment or unlock new possibilitiesHow machines simulate empathy and what that means for the future of relationshipsIf you’re concerned about sharing a planet with billions of humanoid robots—as tech CEOs are predicting—you don’t want to miss this conversation.00:00 Preview01:00 Episode Introduction03:05 About Dr. Sean Welsh05:15 Sean’s backstory11:47 What are the ethical considerations of robotics?17:30 AI warfare and the risk of “slaughterbots”19:52 What happens when AI carries out military strikes24:35 Can robots make moral decisions and who is responsible when they fail?36:12 Anthropomorphism and the psychology behind human-like robots41:00 The growing market for sex robots and what it could mean for society47:58 The hidden psychological risks of emotionally convincing AI relationships54:35 What happens when children interact more with chatbots than people?01:06:40  Could AI relationships reshape human intimacy and social connection?01:10:24  The hidden energy cost of ChatGPT and large AI models01:15:37  Will AI and robots actually cause mass unemployment?01:21:09  Sean Welsh’s Purposeful Empathy storyCONNECT WITH SEAN✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanwelsh77/✩ Website https://engineno2.com/CONNECT WITH ANITA✩ Email [email protected] ✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.socialSEAN’S WORK✩ An Introduction to Ethics and Robotics in AI https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-51110-4✩ Ethics and Security Automata: Policy and Technical Challenges of the Robotic Use of Force https://www.routledge.com/Ethics-and-Security-Automata-Policy-and-Technical-Challenges-of-the-Robotic-Use-of-Force/Welsh/p/book/9781032096117✩ The drive towards ethical AI and responsible robots has begun https://theconversation.com/the-drive-towards-ethical-ai-and-responsible-robots-has-begun-52300SHOW NOTESHumans https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4122068/✩ Ex Machina https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/✩ “Slaughterbots” video by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7659054/✩ Soul Machines https://www.soulmachines.com/Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio