Robot Ethics Research Articles

The Realization of the Ethical Mandate of UNESCO in 2015 and in 2016

UNESCO has fulfilled its ethical mandate in 2015 and in 2016 foremost by standard-setting activities within its various ethics committees. The IBC’ and IGBC’S work focused on the principle of benefit sharing, on the update of IBC’S reflection on the issues of the human genome and human rights as well as on big data in health care and health research and on bioethical questions arising from conditions of refugees and migrants. In the meantime, COMEST has concentrated its efforts on climate change and on elaborating on a post-2015 agenda for the context of science, technology and society as well as on the ethics of water and oceans and the ethics of robotics. Common feature of the standard-setting work of these bodies in 2015 and 2016 remains that UNESCO establishes a strong link between bioethical principles and the human rights framework. However, the developed global principles in different areas have again not resulted in a declaratory standard-setting and thus remain beyond any factual binding force of the already established three international and universal declarations of UNESCO in the field of bioethics. Although an intensified cooperation between the different bodies can be observed, it remains to be seen, which results the external auditing of the work of UNESCO brings about on the issue of governance within the organization.

Robot Ethics vs. Robot Law: Apart and Together

Robot Ethics vs. Robot Law: Apart and Together

Animal Rights and Robot Ethics

This paper investigates challenges which anthropocentric and pathocentric ethics have to face when confronted with moral considerations about non-human animals, especially so-called disenhanced animals, and a new class of technological artifacts, namely social robots. Referring to the case of animal welfare, robot ethics emerges as a new discipline that has not yet reflected on the ideological biases that commonly underlie moral judgments toward animals and find expression in robot ethics, too. As a consequence, robot ethics perpetuates the “work of purification,” that is, the isolation and definition of a particular entity possessing a moral status. Whenever such an entity is defined, the definition excludes all those entities which could likewise possess a moral status but do not fit exactly to the pre-specified definition. The crucial question, then, is whether to seek an ethic of unconditional compassion that doesn't allow itself to be restricted by ideology and is therefore convenient for animal rights and robot ethics as well.

Representations of Childcare Robots as a Controversial Issue

This paper interrogates online representations of robot companions for children, including promotional material by manufacturers, media articles and technology blogs. The significance of the study lies in its contribution to understanding attitudes to robots. The prospect of childcare robots is particularly controversial ethically, and is associated with emotive arguments. The sampled material is restricted to relatively recent posts (the past three years) though the analysis identifies both continuous and changing themes across the past decade. The method extrapolates social representations theory towards examining the ways in which information about robotic products is provided for the general public. Implications for social acceptance of robot companions for the home and robot ethics are considered.

Second thoughts about privacy, safety and deception

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we point out some difficulties with interpreting three of five principles formulated at a retreat on robot ethics sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. We also attempt to iron out some conflicts between the principles. Some of the difficulties arise from the way that the autonomy of robot users – their capacity to live by their own choices – can be a goal in the design of care robots. We discuss (a) problems for Principle 2 that arise from competing legal and philosophical understandings of privacy; (b) a tension between privacy and safety (Principles 2 and 3) and (c) some scepticism about the application of Principle 4, which addresses robot design that might result in the deception of vulnerable users.

“I spy, with my little sensor”: fair data handling practices for robots between privacy, copyright and security

ABSTRACTThe paper suggests an amendment to Principle 4 of ethical robot design, and a demand for “transparency by design”. It argues that while misleading vulnerable users as to the nature of a robot is a serious ethical issue, other forms of intentionally deceptive or unintentionally misleading aspects of robotic design pose challenges that are on the one hand more universal and harmful in their application, on the other more difficult to address consistently through design choices. The focus will be on transparent design regarding the sensory capacities of robots. Intuitive, low-tech but highly efficient privacy preserving behaviour is regularly dependent on an accurate understanding of surveillance risks. Design choices that hide, camouflage or misrepresent these capacities can undermine these strategies. However, formulating an ethical principle of “sensor transparency” is not straightforward, as openness can also lead to greater vulnerability and with that security risks. We argue that the discussion on sensor transparency needs to be embedded in a broader discussion of “fair data handling principles” for robots that involve issues of privacy, but also intellectual property rights such as copyright.

An architecture for ethical robots inspired by the simulation theory of cognition

The expanding ability of robots to take unsupervised decisions renders it imperative that mechanisms are in place to guarantee the safety of their behaviour. Moreover, intelligent autonomous robots should be more than safe; arguably they should also be explicitly ethical. In this paper, we put forward a method for implementing ethical behaviour in robots inspired by the simulation theory of cognition. In contrast to existing frameworks for robot ethics, our approach does not rely on the verification of logic statements. Rather, it utilises internal simulations which allow the robot to simulate actions and predict their consequences. Therefore, our method is a form of robotic imagery. To demonstrate the proposed architecture, we implement a version of this architecture on a humanoid NAO robot so that it behaves according to Asimov’s laws of robotics. In a series of four experiments, using a second NAO robot as a proxy for the human, we demonstrate that the Ethical Layer enables the robot to prevent the human from coming to harm in simple test scenarios.

The Tactile Ethics of Soft Robotics: Designing Wisely for Human-Robot Interaction.

Soft robots promise an exciting design trajectory in the field of robotics and human-robot interaction (HRI), promising more adaptive, resilient movement within environments as well as a safer, more sensitive interface for the objects or agents the robot encounters. In particular, tactile HRI is a critical dimension for designers to consider, especially given the onrush of assistive and companion robots into our society. In this article, we propose to surface an important set of ethical challenges for the field of soft robotics to meet. Tactile HRI strongly suggests that soft-bodied robots balance tactile engagement against emotional manipulation, model intimacy on the bonding with a tool not with a person, and deflect users from personally and socially destructive behavior the soft bodies and surfaces could normally entice.

Principles of robotics: regulating robots in the real world

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes a set of five ethical principles, together with seven high-level messages, as a basis for responsible robotics. The Principles of Robotics were drafted in 2010 and published online in 2011. Since then the principles have influenced, and continue to influence, a number of initiatives in robot ethics but have not, to date, been formally published. This paper remedies that omission.

Rethinking the I-You relation through dialogical philosophy in the Ethics of AI and robotics

Rethinking the I-You relation through dialogical philosophy in the Ethics of AI and robotics

A Study on Necessity of The Chart of Robot Ethics and its Contents

A Study on Necessity of The Chart of Robot Ethics and its Contents

The human relationship in the ethics of robotics: a call to Martin Buber’s I and Thou

Artificially Intelligent robotic technologies increasingly reflect a language of interaction and relationship and this vocabulary is part and parcel of the meanings now attached to machines. No longer are they inert, but interconnected, responsive and engaging. As machines become more sophisticated, they are predicted to be a “direct object” of an interaction for a human, but what kinds of human would that give rise to? Before robots, animals played the role of the relational other, what can stories of feral children tell us about what it means to be human? What of ‘relationship’ do AI and robotic scientists draw on to generate ideas about their relational others? I will address these questions by reference to the work of Martin Buber in I and Thou.

Perception, Imagination and Affect in Human–Robot Relationships

As they arrive in our homes, nursing facilities and educational institutions, urgent questions are being asked about the ethics of encouraging people to have feelings towards social robots that have roles as companions, carers and teachers. This article suggests that the quality of these debates is enhanced by examining how people perceive robots and, in particular, how robots’ expressive characteristics stimulate feelings through engaging the embodied imagination. I discuss the perception and expression of the zoomorphic therapeutic robot Paro, before considering the directions an understanding of these processes can take discussions about the aesthetics and ethics of social robots.

Ethics of healthcare robotics: Towards responsible research and innovation

How can we best identify, understand, and deal with ethical and societal issues raised by healthcare robotics? This paper argues that next to ethical analysis, classic technology assessment, and philosophical speculation we need forms of reflection, dialogue, and experiment that come, quite literally, much closer to innovation practices and contexts of use. The authors discuss a number of ways how to achieve that. Informed by their experience with “embedded” ethics in technical projects and with various tools and methods of responsible research and innovation, the paper identifies “internal” and “external” forms of dialogical research and innovation, reflections on the possibilities and limitations of these forms of ethical–technological innovation, and explores a number of ways how they can be supported by policy at national and supranational level.

Towards Ethical Framework for Personal Care Robots: Review and Reflection

<p>In recent decades, robots have been used noticeably at various industries. Autonomous robots have been embedded in human lives especially in elderly and disabled lives. Elderly population is growing worldwide significantly; therefore there is an increased need of personal care robots to enhance mobility and to promote independence. A great number of aging and disabled hold appeals for using robots in daily routine tasks as well as for various healthcare matters. It is essential to follow a proper framework in ethics of robot design to fulfill individual needs, whilst considering potential harmful effects of robots. This paper primarily focuses on the existing issues in robot ethics including general ethics theories and ethics frameworks for robots. Consequentialism ethics will be recommended to be applied in robot ethics frameworks.</p>

The Robot Ethics of the Autonomous Vehicle and its Legal Implications

이 글은 자율주행자동차에 적합한 로봇윤리를 검토하고 그 법적 시사점을 모색한 것이다. 우선, 자율주행자동차의 로봇윤리로는 자율주행자동차에 맞추어 수정된 아시모프의 3원칙과해악 최소화 알고리듬을 결합하는 하향식 접근법을 기반으로 하여 그 부족한 점을 기계학습과 같은 상향식 접근법으로 보완하는 혼합형 접근법이 적합하다고 보았다. 다음으로, 자율주행자동차의 로봇윤리의 한계 및 법적 규율과의 관계를 검토하여 다음과 같은 법적 시사점을 제시하였다. 첫째, 자율주행자동차의 의사결정 프로그램은 헌법적적합성을 개발단계에서부터 검토할 필요가 있다. 둘째, 다수의 주체가 관여하는 도로교통의 특성을 고려하여 교통법규가 반영된 로봇윤리를 구성하여야 하고 이를 위하여 관련 법령의 구조화와 위계화가 필요하다. 셋째, 로봇윤리에 따른 자율주행자동차의 선호의 체계가 공익을 저해하지 않도록 조정하는 법적 노력이 필요하다. 넷째, 기술발달과 병행하는규제적 법제의 정비를 위해서는 원리 위주의 규제입법이 필요하다.

The issue of moral consideration in robot ethics

This paper discusses whether we should grant moral consideration to robots. Contemporary approaches in support of doing so centers around a relational appearance based approach, which takes departure in the fact that we already by now enter into ethical demanding relations with (even simplistic) robots as if they had a mind of their own. Hence, it is assumed that moral status can be viewed as socially constructed and negotiated within relations. However, I argue that a relational turn risks turning the as if into if at the cost of losing sight of what matters in human-human relations. Therefore, I stick to a human centered framework and introduce a moral philosophical perspective, primarily based on Kant's Tugendlehre and his conception of duties as well as the Formula of Humanity, which also holds a relational perspective. This enables me to discuss preliminary arguments for moral considerations of robots.

When Should We Use Care Robots? The Nature-of-Activities Approach.

When should we use care robots? In this paper we endorse the shift from a simple normative approach to care robots ethics to a complex one: we think that one main task of a care robot ethics is that of analysing the different ways in which different care robots may affect the different values at stake in different care practices. We start filling a gap in the literature by showing how the philosophical analysis of the nature of healthcare activities can contribute to (care) robot ethics. We rely on the nature-of-activities approach recently proposed in the debate on human enhancement, and we apply it to the ethics of care robots. The nature-of-activities approach will help us to understand why certain practice-oriented activities in healthcare should arguably be left to humans, but certain (predominantly) goal-directed activities in healthcare can be fulfilled (sometimes even more ethically) with the assistance of a robot. In relation to the latter, we aim to show that even though all healthcare activities can be considered as practice-oriented, when we understand the activity in terms of different legitimate ‘fine-grained’ descriptions, the same activities or at least certain components of them can be seen as clearly goal-directed. Insofar as it allows us to ethically assess specific functionalities of specific robots to be deployed in well-defined circumstances, we hold the nature-of-activities approach to be particularly helpful also from a design perspective, i.e. to realize the Value Sensitive Design approach.

Patrick Lin, Keith Abney, and George A. Bekey (eds.): Robot Ethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics

Patrick Lin, Keith Abney, and George A. Bekey (eds.): Robot Ethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics

The Philosopher's Singularity

Every single human era has had its landmark moment – for the ancient period, it was the development of agriculture, for the industrial revolution it was the invention of steam power, and for the information age it will be the technological singularity. This event is characterized as a recursive explosion of intelligence, permitting increasingly more sophisticated innovations and invention. One can see a glimpse of this incredible potential in the exponential growth of technology and science at the present. This trend has been continuing since the 1970s, and through the use of graphene based conductors, memristors, vertical processors, and quantum computing will continue into the future. Scientifically, the most important moment is when the exponential curve reaches a slope that is virtually infinite, termed the technological Singularity. This event could be reached by three primary reasons – the development of artificial intelligence, the interfacing between the human mind and machine, as well as biological enhancement. Overall, this work has been done to answer a variety of different questions that many people may have concerning the technological Singularity. The first question is in fact whether the technological Singularity is in fact possible. We have proven decisively that it is a possibility at our current rate of research, yet there may be a number of different alternative scenarios that would take place. Another question concerns the importance of ethics in robotics, or friendly AI research. This paper detailed the importance of the connection between ethics and technology, more valuable than ever before. To better understand these subjects, we have evaluated different aspects of the Singularity with a holistic manner. Many great visionaries have predicted such an evolution in consciousness and intelligence, such as Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ, Sri Aurobindo, as well as the ancient alchemists. To better understand this leap in awareness, we have explored the writings and the ideas that have been developed by these individuals. Our research has indicated that these concepts have a deep impact in every area of our life. Medicine and energy are the two most major facets that a technological Singularity will change forever. In terms of medicine, the three major technologies involved will be regenerative therapy, nanotechnology, and additive printing which will restore the abilities of billions of sick and disabled individuals all around the world. In terms of energy, the most valuable ideas have been in the field of renewable energy including solar, wind, thorium, and fusion energy. Energy has been the primary limiting factor and cause of scarcity in the world. Not only are our current sources of power rather finite and limited, but the negative effects generated by these fossil fuels are causing further hardships and difficulties all around the world. By sourcing our energy from abundant and sustainable sources, we have the ability to unlock the innate potential present in every single person all around the world. This type of abundance would be so unimaginable it would be termed a post-scarcity society, one that would not be based on lack but one that would stem from the innate treasure of every individual.