Title:
Robotic Nudges: The Ethics of Engineering a More Socially Just Human Being
Robotic Nudges: The Ethics of Engineering a More Socially Just Human Being
Author(s)
Borenstein, Jason
Arkin, Ronald C.
Arkin, Ronald C.
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Abstract
The time is nearing when robots are going to become a pervasive feature of our personal lives.
They are already continuously operating
in industrial, domestic,
and military sectors. But
a
facet
of their operation that has not quite reached
its full potential is their involvement in our day-to-day routines as servants, caregivers, companions, and perhaps friends.
It is clear that
the
multiple forms of
robots
already in existence and in the process of being designed
will have a
profound
impact
on
human life.
In fact, the motivation for their creation is largely shaped by
their
ability
to do so. Encouraging patients to take medications,
enabling
children to socialize,
and protecting the elderly from hazards within a
living space
is only a small
sampling
of how
they could
interact with
humans. Their
seemingly
boundless
potential stems in part
from
the
possibility of their
omnipresence but also because they
can be
physically
instantiated, i.e., they
are embodied in the real world, unlike many other devices.
The extent of a robot’s influence on
our lives hinges
in large part
on
which design pathway the robot’s creator decides to pursue
.
The
principal focus
of
this article
is
to
generate discussion about
the
ethical acceptability of
allowing
designers
to
construct
companion
robots that
nudge
a user
in a particular behavioral
direction
(and
if so, under which circumstances). More specifically,
we will
delineate
key issues
related
to the
ethics
of designing robots whose
deliberate purpose is to
nudge
human
users
towards
displaying
greater concern for their
fellow
human beings, including by
becoming
more socially just.
Important
facets of this discussion include whether
a robot’s “nudging
” behavior should occur with or without the user’s awareness and how much control the user
should exert
over it.
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Date Issued
2015-03
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Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Article