Personal Robots, Appearance, and Human Good: A Methodological Reflection on Roboethics

Coeckelbergh, Mark

doi:10.1007/s12369-009-0026-2

Cited by 74 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In recent work I have argued that from a phenomenological point of view, robots may appear as more than machines and that this has consequences for ethics of robotics: a relational, social, and phenomenological approach helps us to better understand human-robot relations and the ethical problems they raise (Coeckelbergh 2009a(Coeckelbergh , 2009b(Coeckelbergh , 2010a(Coeckelbergh , 2010b(Coeckelbergh , 2010c(Coeckelbergh , 2010d. Thus, here the question is not whether or not robots are agents (individual-ontological approach) but how they appear and how that appearance is shaped by, and shapes, the social (social-relational approach).…”

Section: Trusting Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can we trust robots?

Coeckelbergh

2011

Ethics Inf Technol

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123

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Can we trust robots? Responding to the literature on trust and e-trust, this paper asks if the question of trust is applicable to robots, discusses different approaches to trust, and analyses some preconditions for trust. In the course of the paper a phenomenological-social approach to trust is articulated, which provides a way of thinking about trust that puts less emphasis on individual choice and control than the contractarian-individualist approach. In addition, the argument is made that while robots are neither human nor mere tools, we have sufficient functional, agency-based, appearance-based, social-relational, and existential criteria left to evaluate trust in robots. It is also argued that such evaluations must be sensitive to cultural differences, which impact on how we interpret the criteria and how we think of trust in robots. Finally, it is suggested that when it comes to shaping conditions under which humans can trust robots, fine-tuning human expectations and robotic appearances is advisable.

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Section: Trusting Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can we trust robots?

Coeckelbergh

2011

Ethics Inf Technol

Self Cite

123

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“…In previous work, I proposed a social-phenomenological approach to philosophy of robotics, which focuses on the philosophical relevance of robotic appearance and of human-robot relations as social relations (Coeckelbergh 2009(Coeckelbergh , 2010a. In this paper, I wish to further develop this approach by exploring the potential benefits of a linguistichermeneutic turn in philosophy of robotics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

You, robot: on the linguistic construction of artificial others

Coeckelbergh

2010

AI & Soc

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How can we make sense of the idea of 'personal' or 'social' relations with robots? Starting from a social and phenomenological approach to human-robot relations, this paper explores how we can better understand and evaluate these relations by attending to the ways our conscious experience of the robot and the humanrobot relation is mediated by language. It is argued that our talk about and to robots is not a mere representation of an objective robotic or social-interactive reality, but rather interprets and co-shapes our relation to these artificial quasi-others. Our use of language also changes as a result of our experiences and practices. This happens when people start talking to robots. In addition, this paper responds to the ethical objection that talking to and with robots is both unreal and deceptive. It is concluded that in order to give meaning to human-robot relations, to arrive at a more balanced ethical judgment, and to reflect on our current form of life, we should complement existing objective-scientific methodologies of social robotics and interaction studies with interpretations of the words, conversations, and stories in and about human-robot relations.

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“…Certainly, robotic caregivers are an approach intended to substitute human caregivers (Parks 2010), to encourage elder's cognitive skills (Coeckelbergh 2010), or to avoid isolation as a partner of an elder (Sparrow & Sparrow 2006). Although there are advantages on the robotic caregivers there are still some elements that limit their adoption as a viable approach for caring older adults (Decker 2008) (Vallor 2011) (Misselhorn et al 2013).…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a Predictive Scheduling System to Improve Assisted Living Services for Elders

Soto-Mendoza

García-Macías

Chávez

et al. 2015

ACM Trans. Intell. Syst. Technol.

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As the number of older adults increases, and with it the demand for dedicated care, geriatric residences face a shortage of caregivers, who themselves experience work overload, stress and burden. We conducted a long-term field study in three geriatric residences to understand the work conditions of caregivers with the aim of developing technologies to assist them in their work and help them deal with their burden. From this study we obtained relevant requirements and insights of design that were used to design, implement and evaluate two prototypes for supporting caregivers' tasks (e.g. electronic recording and automatic notifications), in order to validate the feasibility of their implementation in-situ and the technical requirements. The evaluation in-situ of the prototypes was conducted for a period of four weeks. The results of the evaluation, together with the data collected from six months of use, motivated the design of a predictive schedule. Such design was iteratively improved and evaluated in participative sessions with caregivers. PRESENCE, the predictive schedule we propose, triggers real-time alerts of risky situations (e.g. falls, entering off-limits areas such as the infirmary or the kitchen) and, informs caregivers of routine tasks that need to be performed (e.g. medication administration, diaper change, etc.). Moreover, PRESENCE helps caregivers to record caring tasks (such as diaper changes or medication) and wellbeing assessments (such as the mood), which are difficult to automatize. This facilitates caregiver's shift handover, and can help to train new caregivers by suggesting routine tasks and by sending reminders and timely information about the residents. It can be seen as a tool to reduce the workload of caregivers and medical staff. Instead of trying to substitute the caregiver with an automatic caring system, as proposed by others, we propose the design of our predictive schedule system that blends caregiver's assessments and measurements from sensors. We show the feasibility of predicting caregiver's tasks and a formative evaluation with caregivers that provides preliminary evidence of its utility.

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Personal Robots, Appearance, and Human Good: A Methodological Reflection on Roboethics

Cited by 74 publications

References 15 publications

Can we trust robots?

Can we trust robots?

You, robot: on the linguistic construction of artificial others

Design of a Predictive Scheduling System to Improve Assisted Living Services for Elders

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