What are the Ethical Implications of Home Robotics?

Hi friends,

        The cheaper and more prevalent robots become, the more likely we are to depend on them. But what are the social, ethical and legal implications of relying on robotics? “Robots are not just things the manufacturer builds and you go out and use them in a specific way. Robots can often be instructed, they can be programmed, you can have software that is built upon by others,”.


 PALO ALTO of California illustrates the potential dilemmas of living with robots by telling the story of how he once got stuck in an elevator at Stanford Hospital with a droid the size of a washing machine.

            We’re still far from the sci-fi dream of having robots whirring about and catering to our every need. But little by little, we’ll be sharing more of our space with robots in the next decade, as prices drop and new technology creates specialized machines that clean up spilled milk or even provide comfort for an elderly parent.

                Now scientists and legal scholars are exploring the likely effects. What happens if a robot crushes your foot, chases your cat off a ledge or smacks your baby? While experts don’t expect a band of Terminators to attack or a “2001: A Space Odyssey” computer that takes control, even simpler, benign robots will have legal, social and ethical consequences. “As we rely more and more on automated systems, we have to think of the implications. It is part of being a responsible scientist,” Horvitz said.

         Horvitz assembled a team of scientists this year when he was president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and asked them to explore the future of human-robot interactions. A report on their discussions is due next year. For years, robots have been used outside the home. They detect bombs on the battleground, build cars in factories and deliver supplies and visit patients in hospitals.

         But the past few years have seen the rise of home robots. Mainly they are used for tasks like vacuuming (think Roomba). There are also robotic lawn mowers, duct cleaners, surveillance systems and alarm clocks. There are robotic toys for entertainment, such as Furby. Robotic companions, like Paro the harbor seal, comfort the elderly. By 2015, personal robot sales in the U.S. will exceed $5 billion, more than quadrupling what they are now, according to ABI Research, which analyzes technology trends.
       
            As robots interact more closely with people, the bonds some people form with the machines – even ones that do not look like humans – might need to be considered.