Abstract
Should we deploy social robots in care settings? This question, asked from a policy standpoint, requires that we understand the potential benefits and downsides of deploying social robots in care situations. Potential benefits could include increased efficiency, increased welfare, physiological and psychological benefits, and experienced satisfaction. There are, however, important objections to the use of social robots in care. These include the possibility that relations with robots can potentially displace human contact, that these relations could be harmful, that robot care is undignified and disrespectful, and that social robots are deceptive. I propose a framework for evaluating all these arguments in terms of three aspects of care: structure, process, and outcome. I then highlight the main ethical considerations that have to be made in order to untangle the web of pros and cons of social robots in care as these pros and cons are related the trade-offs regarding quantity and quality of care, process and outcome, and objective and subjective outcomes.
Highlights
Should we deploy social robots in care settings? In this article I search for the policy desiderata for social robots in care
This is an attempt to highlight the main ethical and political issues involved for a broader audience, in particular those involved in politics and the formation of healthcare policy
In a scoping review of research related to the use of PARO in care, Hung, et al [2] argue that the literature contains a gap with regard to user and patient perspectives on the use of social robots in care
Summary
Should we deploy social robots in care settings? In this article I search for the policy desiderata for social robots in care. There are potential negative consequences of deploying social robots in care First of all, they have the potential to displace human beings, and human beings may be an important factor in providing good care. The answer to the question of whether or not, or how to, use social robots in care situations is dependent on the definition of a good society and the role of technology in such a society [5]. This is an attempt to highlight the main ethical and political issues involved for a broader audience, in particular those involved in politics and the formation of healthcare policy
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