The DOI matches its Crossref record; 124 of the 124 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Artificial Moral Agents: A Survey of the Current Status
Abstract
One of the objectives in the field of artificial intelligence for some decades has been the development of artificial agents capable of coexisting in harmony with people and other systems. The computing research community has made efforts to design artificial agents capable of doing tasks the way people do, tasks requiring cognitive mechanisms such as planning, decision-making, and learning. The application domains of such software agents are evident nowadays. Humans are experiencing the inclusion of artificial agents in their environment as unmanned vehicles, intelligent houses, and humanoid robots capable of caring for people. In this context, research in the field of machine ethics has become more than a hot topic. Machine ethics focuses on developing ethical mechanisms for artificial agents to be capable of engaging in moral behavior. However, there are still crucial challenges in the development of truly Artificial Moral Agents. This paper aims to show the current status of Artificial Moral Agents by analyzing models proposed over the past two decades. As a result of this review, a taxonomy to classify Artificial Moral Agents according to the strategies and criteria used to deal with ethical problems is proposed. The presented review aims to illustrate (1) the complexity of designing and developing ethical mechanisms for this type of agent, and (2) that there is a long way to go (from a technological perspective) before this type of artificial agent can replace human judgment in difficult, surprising or ambiguous moral situations.
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“These capacities also presuppose additional capacities, such as consciousness, self-awareness, personal memory, perception, general intelligence, and emotions [46, 95, 213].”
From The ethics of using artificial intelligence in scientific research: new guidance needed for a new tool (2025) · cites this paper as [46]
In the citing paper
“While the concept of moral agency, like the concept of consciousness, is controversial, there is general agreement that moral agency requires the capacity to perform intentional (or purposeful) actions, understand moral norms, and make decisions based on moral norms.”
From The ethics of using artificial intelligence in scientific research: new guidance needed for a new tool (2025) · cites this paper as [46]
Citations
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Cited by
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Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Marketing for Social Good—An Ethical Perspective
Hermann, E. (2021) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-021-04843-y · Cited by 504
Embedding Values in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems
van de Poel, I. (2020) · Minds and Machines · doi:10.1007/s11023-020-09537-4 · Cited by 255
Resnik, D. B., & Hosseini, M. (2025) · AI and Ethics · doi:10.1007/s43681-024-00493-8 · Cited by 228
“These capacities also presuppose additional capacities, such as consciousness, self-awareness, personal memory, perception, general intelligence, and emotions [46, 95, 213].”
Cordeiro, J. V. (2021) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.647897 · Cited by 121
The mechanisms of AI hype and its planetary and social costs
Markelius, A., Wright, C., Kuiper, J., Delille, N., & Kuo, Y.-T. (2024) · AI and Ethics · doi:10.1007/s43681-024-00461-2 · Cited by 117
Metadata
- Authors
- Cervantes, J.-A., López, S., Rodríguez, L.-F., Cervantes, S., Cervantes, F., & Ramos, F.
- Affiliations
- Universidad de Guadalajara (MX)
- Sonora Institute of Technology (MX)
- Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (MX)
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX)
- Corresponding author
- Cervantes, José-Antonio
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science and Engineering Ethics
- Published
- 2019-11-12
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 501-532
- ISSN
- 1353-3452 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-5546
- OpenAlex
- W2989113827
- Cited by
- 151
- References
- 124
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 3.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science and Engineering Ethics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Ethics in Business and Education
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophical Ethics and Theory
- Keywords
- artificial moral agents, machine ethics, moral behavior, autonomous agents, human-robot interaction, decision-making, planning, learning, humanoid robots, unmanned vehicles, intelligent house
- MeSH terms
- Artificial Intelligence, Humans, Judgment, Morals, Surveys and Questionnaires, Software
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