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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
05:21

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

Can technological artefacts be moral agents?

Martin Peterson1, Andreas Spahn

  • 1Section for Philosophy and Ethics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. m.peterson@tue.nl

Science and Engineering Ethics
|October 8, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Technological artifacts are not moral agents, challenging the distributed moral agency hypothesis. These tools possess only instrumental value, not inherent moral agency.

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Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
05:21

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Technology
  • Ethics
  • Moral Philosophy

Background:

  • The concept of distributed moral agency posits that moral responsibility can extend to non-human entities, including technological artifacts.
  • Peter-Paul Verbeek's hypothesis suggests that moral agency is shared between humans and artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate Peter-Paul Verbeek's hypothesis of distributed moral agency.
  • To argue against the attribution of moral agency to technological artifacts.
  • To establish the nature of technological artifacts in relation to moral and instrumental value.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
  • Critique of existing theories on technological moral agency.
  • Examination of artifact functionalities and their implications for moral status.

Main Results:

  • Technological artifacts, such as bridges, word processors, or bombs, cannot be considered moral agents.
  • The hypothesis of distributed moral agency, as proposed by Verbeek, is found to be mistaken.
  • Alternative perspectives, including a moderate view by Illies and Meijers, are considered and found insufficient.

Conclusions:

  • Technological artifacts are fundamentally neutral tools.
  • Artifacts can only possess instrumental value, not intrinsic moral agency.
  • Moral agency remains an exclusively human capacity.