Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Placing Blame in Multi-agent Systems

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Culture and Computing (HCII 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13324))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 1643 Accesses

Abstract

The article discusses the concept of blame, the acts of placing blame, and blaming in the context of multi-agent systems (MAS). The conceptual resources used for analyzing MASs and their functioning mainly concentrate on successful action while attempts to understand the phenomena concerning erring, making mistakes, and wrongdoing have received less attention. Legal accountability and moral responsibility have a central role in discussions concerning the detrimental and harmful effects of MASs. However, encounters with failing systems give rise to blame and placing blame. The article analyzes the psychological, social, and moral connotations of blame and blaming and their links to responsibility and accountability. It also explores whether the ideals of responsibility and accountability should be complemented with blame-analysis to cover various failure modes and cases of non-ideal occurrence of human-machine cooperation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, C., Wallach, W.: Moral machines. contradiction in terms of abdication of human responsibility? In: Lin, P., Abney, K., Bekey, G. (eds.) Robot ethics. The ethics and social implications of robotics, pp. 55–68. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  • Balaji, P.G., Srinivasan, D.: An introduction to multi-agent systems. In: Srinivasan, D., Jain, L.C. (eds.) Innovations in Multi-Agent Systems and Applications - 1. Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol. 310, p. 27. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14435-6_1

  • Dennett, D.C.: When hal kills, who’s to blame? computer ethics. In: Stork, D. (ed.) Hal’s Legacy: 2001’s Computer as Dream and Reality, pp. 351–365. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dignum, V.: Responsibility and artificial intelligence. In: Dubber, P., Das (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI, pp. 215–233. Oxford University Press, New York (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D.: Essays on Actions and Events. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  • Floridi, L.: The Ethics of Information. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fricker, M.: What is the point of blame? paradigm-based explanation. Noûs 50(1), 165–183 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1111/nous.12067

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Gotterbarn, D.: Informatics and professional responsibility. Sci. Eng. Ethics 7(2), 221–230 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hakli, R., Mäkelä, P.: Moral responsibility in robots and hybrid agents. Monist 102(2), 259–275 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hallamaa, J.: What could safety research contribute to technology design? In: Rauterberg, M. (ed.) HCII 2021. LNCS, vol. 12795, pp. 56–79. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77431-8_4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hallamaa, J., Kalliokoski, T.: How AI systems challenge the conditions of moral agency? In: Rauterberg, M. (ed.) HCII 2020. LNCS, vol. 12215, pp. 54–64. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50267-6_5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hinterleitner, M., Sager, F.: Anticipatory and reactive forms of blame avoidance: of foxes and lions. Eur. Polit. Sci. Rev. 9(4), 587–606 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773916000126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M.A., Vaughan, G.M.: Social Psychology. 5th (edn.). Pearson, Harlow (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollnagel, E., Braithwaite J.: Resilient Health Care. CRC Press (2019). ISBN 9781317065166

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood, C.: What happens when transparency meets blame-avoidance? Public Manage. Rev. 9(2), 191–210 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030701340275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalliokoski, T.: Yhteisöllisyyden rajat yhteistoiminnan jaihmisen perushyvien näkökulmasta. Diss. University of Helsinki, Helsinki (2020). http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-51-6077-5

  • Manheim, D.: Multiparty dynamics and failure modes for machine learning and artificial intelligence. Big Data Cogn. Comput. 3(2), 21 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc3020021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Misselhorn, C.: Collective agency and cooperation in natural and artificial systems. In: Misselhorn, C. (ed.) Collective Agency and Cooperation in Natural and Artificial Systems. PSS, vol. 122, pp. 3–24. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15515-9_1

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Moor, J.H.: The nature, importance, and difficulty of machine ethics. Intell. Syst. (IEEEI) 21(4), 18–21 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moya, C.J.: The Philosophy of Action. Polity Press, Cambridge (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  • MOT Oxford Dictionary of English. https://mot.it.helsinki.fi/

  • Nissenbaum, H.: Accountability in a Computerized Society. In B. Friedman (ed.) Human Values and the Design of Computer Technology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 41–64. https://nissenbaum.tech.cornell.edu/papers/accountability.pdf

  • Noorman, M.: Computing and moral responsibility. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition) (2020). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/computing-responsibility/. Accessed 31 Jan 2022

  • Reason, J.: Organizational Accidents Revisited. Ashgate, Farnham (2016)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rocha, J., Boavida-Portugal, I., Gomes, E: Introductory Chapter: Multi-Agent Systems. In: Multi-agent Systems, pp. 3–13. IntechOpen, Rijeka (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, W.: Blaming the Victim. Pantheon Books, New York (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheer, M.: The Dynamics of Change. Tavistock approaches to Improving Social Systems. Routledge, London, New York (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, M.: Public Appearances/Public Realities: The Psychology of Self-Monitoring. Freeman, New York (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, B.C.: responsible computers? a case for ascribing quasi-responsibility to computer independent of personhood or agency. Ethics Inf. Technol. 8(4), 205–213 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staub, E.: The Roots of Evil The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullins, J.P.: When is a robot a moral agent? Int. Rev. Inf. Ethics 6(2), 23–29. https://philpapers.org/rec/SULWIA-2. Accessed 03 Feb 2022

  • Talbert, M.: Moral responsibility. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Winter 2019 Edition (2019). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/moral-responsibility/. Accessed 31 Jan 2022

  • Tognazzini, N., Coates, D.: Blame. In: Zalta, E.N. (ed.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition) (2021). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/blame/. Accessed 25 Jan 2022

  • Verbeek, P.P.: Materializing morality: design ethics and technological mediation author(s): Peter-Paul Verbeek source: science, technology, and human values. Ethics Eng. Des. 31(3), 361–380 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • von Wright, G.H.: The Varieties of Goodness. Routledge & Kegan Paul, New York (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardo, P.: The Lucifer Effect. How Good People Turn Evil. Rider, London (2007)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Jaana Hallamaa & Taina Kalliokoski

Authors
  1. Jaana Hallamaa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Taina Kalliokoski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Taina Kalliokoski .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Matthias Rauterberg

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Hallamaa, J., Kalliokoski, T. (2022). Placing Blame in Multi-agent Systems. In: Rauterberg, M. (eds) Culture and Computing. HCII 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13324. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05434-1_28

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05434-1_28

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-05433-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-05434-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics