Final Paper—Artificial Humans

Final Paper

1. Prepare a structured outline (as per course specifications) on the assigned topic suitable as the basis for a 3,000-5,000 word paper. Include a substantial analysis for two contrasting ethical theories from class. After finishing the structured outline, take it through several editing steps with rewriting as needed.

2. Copy the entire structured outline a second time into your file and fill in the paragraphs in this second version to complete the actual paper. Include FIRST the structured outline in your Word or HTML file, FOLLOWED by your full paper that matches the outline. Submit to D2L before the deadline. (Note: it is acceptable if you make some structural changes to the paper that affects the sections and order of paragraphs. You do not have to rewrite the structured outline.

   This a final paper. so you should include all formal citations for references that appear in your text.

1. Prepare an extended structured outline on the topic.

2. Give your structured outline to two other people to edit and give feedback.

3. Move ideas around, and make other changes, as needed.

4. Write down the initials of the people who edited your S/O at the top of your submissino.

1. Inside your document, use copy and paste to create an exact second copy of the structured outline. Separate the two with a page break and a horizontal line.

2. Fill in the paragraphs (of the second copy of the structured outline) following the topic sentences to complete your paper. If you need to split paragraphs or move ideas around this is fine, but you don't have to make any changes to the first copy of your structured outline.

1. Put the word count of the entire file, your name, and the initials of the person(s) who reviewed your structured outline, at the top of your file, above your title.

2. Submit your SINGLE-FILE Word document or HTML file (which contains first your structured outline, and second the corresponding paper) to D2L well before the deadline. No other file formats will be accepted for credit. No late papers accepted for credit. NO ZIP FILES, no PDF files, no Pages files, etc.

3. Download your submission from D2L and view it to make sure that it has not been corrupted in any way.

The Topic

Content:

1. You are a consultant to a political action committee. You have been hired to make the case to congress on this issue. Prepare your structured outline, and the resulting paper, so that congress people can read the outline before prelminary arguments, and then your paper before the full hearing.

2. You will consider a proposed action that is before congress that you see as either ethical, or unethical, and will make the case that based on your analysis congress should either make laws supporting the action, or laws prohibiting it. Note: it is fine to pick an action that you do not actually personally support, and it is fine if you find the action ethical, or not, with either analysis. Any combination is valid. We are looking for your logical arguments under the ethical theories, and your understanding of the issues.

3. Use your paper to convince us of your conclusions: that the action is ethical, or the action is unethical. (Note: it is acceptable if you convince us that further study is needed because the action is ethical under one theory and unethical under another.)

4. This is a final paper. Research is going to be required. These are complex topics, and there are almost always two sides to any proposed compromise.

5. Carefully explain the technical details behind the proposed action. Discuss the negatives and positives.

6. Be clear about your background assumptions. For example, will you be granting equal status to complex machines because they might support sentience? Only if they are proven to support sentience? Arbitrarily?

7. Is your paper interesting?

8. Analyze the proposed action under two different ethical frameworks, and draw some conclusions about whether, under each framework, the solution is ethical. You are not limited to the "four" ethical frameworks.

Here are some related ideas, but you are absolutely free to choose your own emphasis. Is it ethical to...

1. ...cause pain to a computer that fully implements a human being?

2. ...treat a fully implemented computer version of a human different from the identical biological version of the human? Do the two different actions always result in the same ethical outcome?

3. ...make a copy of a human being?

4. ...pursue the creation of artificial, but fully implemented, humans?

5. ...create artificial humans for the purpose of enslaving them for work?

6. ...modify artificial humans so they are "happy slaves" and cheerfully do our work for us?

7. ...create fully new humans from the ground up?

8. ...do nothing, when we could create fully implemented human beings that spend their days in [the feeling of?] communion with God in a state of enlightenment?

9. ...kill (turn off) fully implemented copies of humans.

10. ...preserve human consciousness indefinitely as a non-deteriorating, non-aging, software program?

11. ...make perfect replications of existing humans?

12. ...invest resources in creating "super-humans" (non-aging, continually learning human-like programs) that can lead us in the technology of the future?

13. ...prohibit the creation of artificial humans that can harm us?

14. ...prohibit the creation of artificial humans that can fight our (human?) enemies?

15. ...make artificial humans that are smarter than we are (the "Singularity") such that they understand us, but we don't undertand them?

16. ...treat "artificial death" differently than regular death under ethical theories, because artificial humans could be restored to life by powering them back up again, as long as there was a backup.

17. [add your own]