AI and Society 31 (4):1-10 (2016)
Authors |
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Abstract |
In this paper I describe a future in which persons in advanced old age are cared for entirely by robots and suggest that this would be a dystopia, which we would be well advised to avoid if we can. Paying attention to the objective elements of welfare rather than to people’s
happiness reveals the central importance of respect and recognition, which robots cannot provide, to the practice of aged care. A realistic appreciation of the current economics of the aged care sector suggests that the introduction of robots into an aged care setting will most
likely threaten rather than enhance these goods. I argue that, as a result, the development of robotics is likely to transform aged care in accordance with a trajectory of development that leads towards this dystopian future even when this is not the intention of the engineers
working to develop robots for aged care. While an argument can be made for the use of robots in aged care where the people being cared for have chosen to allow robots in this role, I suggest that over-emphasising this possibility risks rendering it a self-fulfilling prophecy, depriving those being cared for of valuable social recognition, and failing to provide respect for older persons by allowing the options available to them to be shaped by the design
choices of others.
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Keywords | ethics robots robotics aged care society welfare social robotics dystopia |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Reprint years | 2015, 2016 |
DOI | 10.1007/s00146-015-0625-4 |
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References found in this work BETA
Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach.Martha C. Nussbaum - 2000 - Cambridge University Press.
Sour Grapes: Studies in the Subversion of Rationality.Jon Elster - 1983 - Editions De La Maison des Sciences De L'Homme.
View all 22 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.Vincent C. Müller - 2020 - In Edward Zalta (ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Palo Alto, Cal.: CSLI, Stanford University. pp. 1-70.
Robots, Rape, and Representation.Robert Sparrow - 2017 - International Journal of Social Robotics 9 (4):465-477.
The Case of Classroom Robots: Teachers’ Deliberations on the Ethical Tensions.Sofia Serholt, Wolmet Barendregt, Asimina Vasalou, Patrícia Alves-Oliveira, Aidan Jones, Sofia Petisca & Ana Paiva - 2017 - AI and Society 32 (4):613-631.
Ethical Values and Social Care Robots for Older People: An International Qualitative Study.Heather Draper & Tom Sorell - 2017 - Ethics and Information Technology 19 (1):49-68.
View all 17 citations / Add more citations
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