Date of Graduation

8-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Philosophy

Advisor/Mentor

Lee, Richard

Committee Member

Christopher Stevens

Second Committee Member

Jenna Donohue

Keywords

AI, morals

Abstract

As we continue to develop artificially intelligent systems, there is an increasingly high chance that we will develop a system that is both conscious and capable of suffering. Furthermore, it is likely that the development of this conscious machine will be entirely unintentional. While this machine will have moral status, identifying it will be extremely difficult, leading to it being treated the same as its inert predecessors. For these reasons I believe that a crisis in ethics is looming. This paper aims to argue that it is possible for a machine to have moral status, that the first such machine will likely be produced unintentionally, and that identifying this machine will involve significant difficulties.

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