TY - JOUR
T1 - Programmed to do good
T2 - The categorical imperative as a key to moral behavior of social robots
AU - Fink, Matthias
AU - Maresch, Daniela
AU - Gartner, Johannes
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Social robots—such as autonomous vehicles, service robots, or healthcare robots—are designed to support tasks in a broad range of human activities. However, these robots face moral dilemmas because they must make decisions that may do good for one human but potentially inflict harm on another. We argue that Kant's categorical imperative provides a framework for algorithm-based moral decision-making. By systematically addressing ethical concerns from the outset in the development of the algorithms that steer social robots, their designers can help ensure that such robots promote the well-being of individuals, communities, and society. We conclude that those involved in the development of social robots need to embed ethics into their design and functioning. The solutions to the ethical dilemmas we advance in this paper can help improve the adoption and impact of social robots. The presented insights contribute to research, practice, and policy.
AB - Social robots—such as autonomous vehicles, service robots, or healthcare robots—are designed to support tasks in a broad range of human activities. However, these robots face moral dilemmas because they must make decisions that may do good for one human but potentially inflict harm on another. We argue that Kant's categorical imperative provides a framework for algorithm-based moral decision-making. By systematically addressing ethical concerns from the outset in the development of the algorithms that steer social robots, their designers can help ensure that such robots promote the well-being of individuals, communities, and society. We conclude that those involved in the development of social robots need to embed ethics into their design and functioning. The solutions to the ethical dilemmas we advance in this paper can help improve the adoption and impact of social robots. The presented insights contribute to research, practice, and policy.
KW - Algorithms
KW - Categorical imperative
KW - Ethical dilemmas
KW - Social robots
KW - Societal impact
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171625892&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122793
DO - 10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122793
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85171625892
SN - 0040-1625
VL - 196
JO - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
JF - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
M1 - 122793
ER -