--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Working out what it would take to program…" description: "\"Working out what it would take to program goodness into a robot shows not only how much machinery it takes to be good but how slippery the concept of g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/steven-pinker-526_be-good_working-out-what-it-would-take-to-progra_888579.jpg" --- # Working out what it would take to program goodness into a… ![“Working out what it would take to program goodness into a robot shows not only how much machinery it takes to be good but how slippery the concept of goodness is to start with.” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/steven-pinker-526_be-good_working-out-what-it-would-take-to-progra_888579.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/steven-pinker-526_be-good_working-out-what-it-would-take-to-progra_888579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/steven-pinker-526_be-good_working-out-what-it-would-take-to-progra_888579.jpg) > “Working out what it would take to program goodness into a robot shows not only how much machinery it takes to be good but how slippery the concept of goodness is to start with.” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exploring how to encode moral behavior in machines reveals both technical complexity and the elusive nature of morality itself. **In simple terms:** Programming goodness shows moral concepts are hard to define. Key Takeaway Recognize moral ambiguity in AI design. Themes ethics technology philosophy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - robot design - policy making - education - public debate Key Concepts moral theory AI alignment human values Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure AI respects varied moral frameworks? - What limits exist in defining goodness? A Different Perspective Technical solutions may not capture cultural moral diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good and bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-bad/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Robot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robot/) [Robotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robotics/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Work out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-out/) ## Related quotes > [ \[...\] so important to believe in a concept of goodness, even if we make it up ourselves. We don't really make it up. it's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/so-important-to-believe-in-a-concept-of-goodness-even-if-we-make-it/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [there is nothing so uncertain and slippery as fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-coleridge/there-is-nothing-so-uncertain-and-slippery-as-fact/) [Sara Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-coleridge/) > [In ways to greatness think on this, That slippery all ambition is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herrick/in-ways-to-greatness-think-on-this-that-slippery-all-ambition-is/) [Robert Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herrick/) > [“It may seem a fine thing in song or story to be ankle-deep in the blood of your enemies but in reality it's slippery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/engvyr-gunnarson/it-may-seem-a-fine-thing-in-song-or-story-to-be-ankle-deep-in-the/) Engvyr Gunnarson > [“(Hockey) It's a slippery game played on ice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punch-imlach/hockey-it-s-a-slippery-game-played-on-ice/) Punch Imlach > [People don't think about the fact that when Barack Obama's parents had him it was illegal for them to be married in several states…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/people-don-t-think-about-the-fact-that-when-barack-obama-s-parents/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > [I wish the press were paying more attention to the erosion of the Constitution and the slippery slope that we're getting into, by giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-lee/i-wish-the-press-were-paying-more-attention-to-the-erosion-of-the/) [Barbara Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-lee/) > [Torture is such a slippery slope; as soon as you allow a society or any legal system to do that, almost instantly you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/torture-is-such-a-slippery-slope-as-soon-as-you-allow-a-society-or/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Once a month I wake in the night, slippery with terror. 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Just be careful, my hands are still slippery with your blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-burlew/fine-whatever-just-be-careful-my-hands-are-still-slippery-with-your/) [Rich Burlew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-burlew/) > [What opium is instilled into all disaster? It shows formidable as we approach it, but there is at last no rough rasping friction,but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-opium-is-instilled-into-all-disaster-it-shows-formidable-as-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Never bend the rules. You bend the rules a little bit and then it's a slippery slope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-peterffy/never-bend-the-rules-you-bend-the-rules-a-little-bit-and-then-it-s-a/) [Thomas Peterffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-peterffy/) > [Any departure from fact is the first step on a slippery slope toward unbelievability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-henry-iii/any-departure-from-fact-is-the-first-step-on-a-slippery-slope-toward/) [William A. Henry III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-henry-iii/) ## More by Steven Pinker > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. 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A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Explore all 495 Steven Pinker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## More Be good quotes > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Peace is the result of love, and if love were easy we'd all be good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-mccarthy/peace-is-the-result-of-love-and-if-love-were-easy-we-d-all-be-good-at/) [Colman McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-mccarthy/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Most of us want to live in harmony and peace and be good to others. Right now, however, the world is in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hany-abu-assad/most-of-us-want-to-live-in-harmony-and-peace-and-be-good-to-others/) [Hany Abu-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hany-abu-assad/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/the-producers-felt-that-24-would-be-good-for-the-audience-to-really/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. 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