Robot Ethics at the Science Museum

If there’s one area of science that can be guaranteed to capture public imagination, it’s Robotics. The IET’s recent Robot Ethics lecture, hosted at London’s prestigious Science Museum, was no exception. 



As robotic devices become ever more commonplace in our lives, this event explored the ethical implications arising from increasing interaction between man and machine.



Organised by the Robotics and Mechatronics TPN (Technical and Professional network) in partnership with the UK-RAS Network (Robotics and Autonomous System) this two-hour, three-speaker event filled the venue to capacity, packing in 120 attendees.



Lead volunteer Mark Witkowski was delighted with the turnout: “Robotics lectures are always well attended but this one gave us a particularly interesting crossover audience, a mix of IET delegates, members of the public and VIPs from the UK-RAS Network.”



“Robot ethics is a fascinating topic,” says Mark, who is a researcher in cognitive robotics. “Even the short-term is surprisingly unknowable. I invited speakers who were acknowledged experts in the field but also who could present complex ideas in an accessible way. The popular perception of robotics driven by movies and the media is way ahead of the reality; this is a field where you always have to take great care with public expectations.” 



Feedback shows that all three talks were highly thought provoking, most notably stimulating audience debate on the idea of liability, i.e. where will responsibility lie if something goes wrong with a robot? Dr Kathleen Richardson gave much food for thought on the anthropological and psychological aspects of robotics. 



Kathleen, who is Senior Research Fellow in the Ethics of Robotics at De Montfort University, found the IET audience very engaged. “I’ve spoken to engineers and roboticists before, but this group were particularly open to dialogue about the cultural and sociological aspects of using robots to replicate human relationships. We shared many ethical concerns.”



Among the issues Kathleen touched upon were: 



•             Robots are being developed for use in social care but experiments show there are elements of companionship and emotional nourishment that even our beloved pets cannot replicate, so how can a machine? 

•             As we design human-like robots to carry out support and service functions, gender-constrained thinking is becoming an issue: why are they often female? 

•             We’re developing robots to work in space: why are we letting machines have all the fun in the field of human endeavour? 

•             Research is already showing a decline in our ability to show empathy in the digital age. Will the prevalence of robots make human intimacy obsolete and how can we prevent it?



Professor Alan Winfield, Professor of Electronic Engineering and Director of the Science Communication Unit, UWE Bristol shared a personal journey from robot ethics ; looking at how roboticists must be ethical and explained the idea of ethical robots - that is, how we can, and should, explore the possibility that robots themselves can be ethical agents.  You can read more from Alan on his personal blog



Professor Tony Prescott, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Sheffield and Director of Sheffield Robotics,  addressed issues such as, in developing ethical principles for robots should we treat them as just another product or do we need to start thinking of them as something new?



The event was scheduled to take place just before one of the Science Museum’s hugely popular Lates – monthly adults-only evenings of free talks, workshops and activities. Members attending the IET lecture got automatic entry into the robotics-themed Lates and the speakers also stayed on to give a second short talk to a slightly more general audience.



Scott McKenzie-Cook, Special Events Manager at the Science Museum, agrees the collaboration was stimulating for everyone: “We started Lates to attract young adult visitors to the Science Museum. Planning these in partnership with professional bodies like the IET means that we get high profile, world-class contributors as well as a more specialist audience joining in with the networking.” 

 

The Robotics and Mechatronics TPN is looking to explore issues in advanced robotics further too: keep an eye out for forthcoming events in Social Robots Mark is currently planning.

 

 If you couldn't make the event, all of the presentations from the evening are available to view via IET.tv