Roboethics - Do robots need ethical principles? [24.04.19]
Increasingly, robots play important roles in our society and their fields of application are manifold. Due to the development of artificial intelligence, robots can no longer be regarded as pure tools. The possible effects of an uncontrolled development in robotics are not only plotted in science fiction movies and literature, but are also a hot topic for researchers worldwide. Scenarios of the future could soon become reality. Therefore, Hohenheim scientists argue for a stronger consideration of ethical aspects, as well as for a more in-depth research of ethical principles in the field of robotics.
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Original Paper
Zawieska, Karolina; Vermuelen, Ben (2019): Roboethics as a Research Puzzle. In: 2019 14th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). 2019 14th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Daegu, Korea (South): IEEE, S. 612–613.
Abstract
This position paper discusses the question of incorporating roboethics into the roboticists' thinking about their research. On the one hand, there has been a growing recognition of the need to develop and advance the field of roboethics. On the other hand, for different reasons, a large part of the robotics community has still been reluctant to explicitly address ethical considerations in robotics research. We argue here that in order to facilitate and foster ethical reflection in roboticists' work, roboethics should be seen as a research puzzle. This implies studying rather than only applying specific ethical principles, as well as taking highly creative and pioneering approaches towards emerging ethical challenges.
