Ethics and Robotics

Ethics and Robotics


Richard A. Burgess, M.A.

Texas Tech T
-
STEM Center

and

Deputy Director,

National Institute for Engineering Ethics




Summer 2012

Three Laws of Robotics
–

Isaac Asimov

1. A robot may not injure a human
being or, through inaction, allow a
human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given to it
by human beings except where such
orders would conflict with the First
Law.

3. A robot must protect its own
existence as long as such protection
does not conflict with the First or
Second Law.

Introduction

•
While Asimov’s Three Laws are interesting, we will
not be focusing on them.

•
We will explore how to incorporate ethics into
robotics PBLs.

•
Some of the techniques and questions we will look at
can be easily adapted to other types of projects and
activities.

Questions to Teach Ethics

•
Well
-
formulated questions are a great way to
generate discussion among students and
teachers.

•
Questions also allow us to explore the various
facets of technology.

•
Five questions to be inserted at various stages
in the PBL.

Question 1

•
What materials and resources will be needed
to construct, operate, and maintain robots?

•
Materials

•
Durability

•
Cost

•
Accessibility

•
Sustainability/Disposability

•
Resources

•
Energy required to construct robots

•
Energy required to operate them


Question 2

•
Who would use this technology?

•
Does the choice of materials affect cost which in
turn affects who could use robots?

•
Who would use robots and how would they be
impacted physically, emotionally, and financially?

Question 3

•
Besides the people using the technology, who
else might be affected by it?

•
Will people’s jobs change in virtue of robots?
Positively? Negatively?

•
What about those living around the factories
responsible for producing the robots? Will they
be impacted? If so, how?

Question 4

•
What else might be affected?

•
How will robots impact the inanimate world? The
urban environment? Hospitals, nursing homes,
assisted living facilities?

•
Animals around us?

Question 5

•
What will we do with robots once they are
outdated or otherwise not being used
anymore?

•
How will we store and/or dispose of robots? Will
we recycle certain components?

•
Could and should we ship robots we are no longer
using to countries that might benefit from them?

Discussion and Guidance

•
Facilitating discussion via questions is a good
start.

•
In order to promote ethical reasoning, it is
worthwhile to draw attention to potential
sources of guidance regarding the questions.

•
Engineering codes of ethics (available online)


Robots in Healthcare

•
The use of robots in healthcare will raise
ethical issues.

•
Consider the roles robots might serve:

•
Lifting patients/helping them ambulate: this could
potentially decrease injuries to both healthcare workers
and patients.

•
Dispense medication: this could free up nurses and other
staff to address other needs.

•
Robots as companions: could keep some patients company


More Questions

•
Who is affected by the use of robots in
healthcare? Directly? Indirectly? (e.g.,
patients, health care workers, administrators,
family members)

•
Will healthcare workers lose their jobs?

•
How will family members be affected? They
might find themselves freed from some of the
burdens of providing care but also isolated
from the patient.


Robots as Companions

•
“Robot caregivers: harbingers of expanded
freedom for all?” Jason Borenstein and Yvette
Pearson in Ethics and Information Technology,
volume 12, issue 3, September 2010

•
“The presence of certain kinds of robots may
ease depression caused by loneliness. Even if
robots do not provide genuine friendship,
they may mitigate feelings of isolation.”

•
Robots to help care for autistic children.