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Scientist calls for robot ethics rules
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Children cared for by robots may, over the long-term, suffer psychological impacts from lack of human contact, says the scientist(Source: iStockphoto)
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Ethics guidelines are urgently needed to control the growing use of robots in caring for children and the elderly, says one UK robotics expert.
Professor Noel Sharkey, of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield, makes his case in today's issue of the journal Science.
Sharkey argues that the steady increase in the use of robots in day-to-day life poses unanticipated risks and ethical problems.
In particular he worries about the impact of long-term exposure of "vulnerable" groups such as children and the elderly to "personal care" robots.
"There are already at least 14 companies in Japan and South Korea that have developed child care robots," says Sharkey.
"The question here is, will this lead to neglect and social exclusion?"
Robots make teddy bears redundant
Sharkey says studies have shown that children prefer robots to a teddy bear and develop attachment to the machines.
He says short-term exposure "can provide an enjoyable and entertaining experience that creates interest and curiosity".
But Sharkey says children cared for by robots may, over the long-term, suffer psychological impacts from lack of human contact.
Animal experiments suggest young monkeys left in the care of robots "became unable to deal with other monkeys and to breed," says Sharkey.
He says there are also already many "elder-care" robots in wide use, such as the Japanese "My Spoon", which can automatically feed older people, and an electric bathtub robot that can automatically wash and rinse them.
Sharkey also expresses concern about plans to develop military robots that can autonomously locate targets and destroy them without human intervention.
"The ethical problems arise because no computational system can discriminate between combatants and innocents in a close-contact encounter," he says.
Robot sales surge
With prices plunging by 80% since 1990, consumer sales of robots have surged in the 21st century, reaching nearly 5.5 million in 2008, and this is expected to double to 11.5 million in the next two years.
"[Robots] are set to enter our lives in unprecedented numbers," says Sharkey, expressing fear that an absence of ethical rules fixed by international bodies could mean the machines' control will be left to the robot industry, busy parents and militaries.
The scientist also points to the remarks of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who he says predicted that "over the next few years robots may be a pervasive as the PC".
"We were caught off guard by the sudden increase in internet use and it would not be a good idea to let that happen with robots," says Sharkey.
"It is best if we set up some ethical guidelines now before the mass deployment of robots rather than wait until they are in common use."
Sharkey says it is vital that action be taken on an international level as soon as possible, "rather than let the guidelines set themselves."
Robots defended
For Sharkey, who has studied robotics for 30 years, such standards are compatible with the rise of robots, of which he is an enthusiastic defender. He stresses the benefits that robots can bring "to dangerous work and medicine."
Sharkey shrugs off doomsday scenarios in books such as Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot" about the threatening interaction between robots and humans, or in movies such as the "The Terminator" in which robots take over the world.
Such story lines will remain firmly in the realm of fantasy, even as societies hurtle towards greater automation, he says.
"I have no concern whatsoever about robots taking control. They are dumb machines with computers and sensors and do not think for themselves despite what science fiction tells us," he says.
"It is the application of robots by people that concerns me and not the robots themselves."
Tags: aged-care, careers, ethics, child-care, child-health-and-behaviour, computers-and-technology, robots-and-artificial-intelligence
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