Ethics considerations on the design, development and application of Autonomous Decision Systems

Abstract

We are just debating about the fourth industrial revolution, in which digital technologies coexist and collaborate with classical Sciences in the automation of processes and services in all areas of human life. This cooperation has important consequences in many contexts and social environments. Besides, the vertiginous speed at which new technologies are arriving and their social assumption, more often than the desired one, prevent the assimilation of changes by society and, what is more important, it produces a practical impossibility to offer ethical, legal and social answers right adapted to the rhythms and scope of the transformation process. This technological disruption generates new problems and conflicts, which can even injure human rights. For this reason, from many institutions,  areas and professional bodies, actions have been initiated aimed at analyzing the repercussions that machine-learned automated systems can have on our current way of life. This paper is dedicated to present some of the initiatives designed from the professional, socio-political or scientific perspective, with special emphasis on those oriented to the ethical aspects associated with these systems and particular reference to the European and Spanish instances.