Pilot Investigation for a Comprehensive Taxonomy of Autonomous Entities

This paper documents an exploratory pilot study to define the term Autonomous Entity, and any characteristics that are required to identify or classify an Autonomous Entity. Our solution builds on previous work with regard to philosophical and scientific classification methods but focuses on a novel Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) and model to help identify those characteristics which make any autonomous entity similar or different from others. We have solved the problem of not having an existing term to define our lens by creating a new combinatorial term: "Riskyishness". We present a DSRM and instrument for initial investigation, as well as observational and statistical descriptions of their use in the real world to solicit domain expertise and statistical evidence. Further, we demonstrate a specific application of the methodology by creating a second artifact - a tool to score existing and future technologies based on Riskyishness. The first artifact also provides a technique to disentangle miscellaneous existing technologies or add dimensions to the tools to capture future additions and paradigm shifts.