Robot ethics

Robot ethics, sometimes known as "roboethics", concerns ethical problems that occur with robots, such as whether robots pose a threat to humans in the long or short run, whether some uses of robots are problematic (such as in healthcare or as 'killer robots' in war), and how robots should be designed such that they act 'ethically' (this last concern is also called machine ethics). Alternatively, roboethics refers specifically to the ethics of human behavior towards robots, as robots become increasingly advanced.[1] Robot ethics is a sub-field of ethics of technology, specifically information technology, and it has close links to legal as well as socio-economic concerns. Researchers from diverse areas are beginning to tackle ethical questions about creating robotic technology and implementing it in societies, in a way that will still ensure the safety of the human race.[2]

While the issues are as old as the word robot, serious academic discussions started around the year 2000. Robot ethics requires the combined commitment of experts of several disciplines, who have to adjust laws and regulations to the problems resulting from the scientific and technological achievements in Robotics and AI. The main fields involved in robot ethics are: robotics, computer science, artificial intelligence, philosophy, ethics, theology, biology, physiology, cognitive science, neurosciences, law, sociology, psychology, and industrial design.[3]

  1. ^ Veruggio, Gianmarco; Operto, Fiorella (2008), Siciliano, Bruno; Khatib, Oussama (eds.), "Roboethics: Social and Ethical Implications of Robotics", Springer Handbook of Robotics, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 1499–1524, doi:10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_65, ISBN 9783540303015
  2. ^ "Robot Ethics". IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  3. ^ "Robot Ethics - IEEE Robotics and Automation Society - IEEE Robotics and Automation Society". www.ieee-ras.org. Retrieved 2022-04-10.