Verification and Validation of Ethical Decision-making in Autonomous Systems

Autonomous systems are increasingly becoming part of both the cyber and physical infrastructures that sustain our daily lives. Immersing these technologies into our technical and social infrastructures has profound implications and hence requires instilling confidence in their behavior to avoid potential harm. This paper examines the characteristics of autonomous behavior in relation to ethical decision-making and highlights the roles of cognitive computing and science of complexity toward addressing the identified verification and validation challenges. A framework influenced by the social intuitionist theory is discussed, and wide reflective equilibrium model of coherence is posited as a formal computational strategy for its implementation.