Publication
Robot ethics: assessing risk from the perspective of autonomy
Book Chapter (2026)
Book Title
Regulating autonomy. Ethics, values and governance in artificial intelligence
Publisher
Springer, Cham
Pages
165-187
Volume
81
Serie
Law, governance and technology series
Doc link
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-13063-1_9
File
Abstract
Robots are machines and have thus a physical presence. They can also be programmed with AI software, for learning, reasoning, planning and decision making. For this reason, they can as well be considered as embodiment of AI. It is precisely the touch of AI that elevates robots over ordinary machines, enabling autonomy beyond mere automatism. Autonomy plus enhanced perception, mobility and dexterity allows robots to expand their activity in unstructured and unpredictable surroundings, pervading all the environments of human activity, in work and leisure, home and abroad, in intimacy and in public spaces. Robot users could be not only professionals, but practically anyone. The close and extended contact between humans and robots would provide a plethora of situations where important ethical questions may arise, concerning security, privacy, dignity, liberty, equality/justice, or sustainability. The possible ways to tackle such issues include normative/legal initiatives, dissemination/education of all possible stakeholders, as well as programming/learning of ethics in(to) robots.
Categories
cybernetics, intelligent robots, robots, social aspects of automation.
Author keywords
Embodied AI, Autonomy, Robot applications, Ethical concerns of robotics, Robot ethics
Scientific reference
P. Jiménez, J. Pareto and C. Torras. Robot ethics: assessing risk from the perspective of autonomy. In Regulating autonomy. Ethics, values and governance in artificial intelligence, 165-187. Springer, Cham, 2026.
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