If you have sex with an android doll and then knock it around the room, are you being abusive? If you’re in a foul mood and boot your robotic pet down the stairs, are you being a jerk? In either scenario, is the device’s owner culpable of bad behavior?
The questions may sound insincere, but a US bioethicist submits that they raise concerns that societies should address as humans increasingly rely on social robots for companionship and emotional support.
Nancy Jecker, a bioethicist at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, authored a newly published paper in the journal AI & Society. It asks a provocative question – “Can we wrong robots?” – and argues that the answer is “yes”. [Read more…] about Social robots deserve our appreciation, bioethicist says