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Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots

Proponents of welcoming robots into the moral circle have presented various approaches to moral patiency under which determining the moral status of robots seems possible. However, even if we recognize robots as having moral standing, how should we situate them in the hierarchy of values? In particu...

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Autor principal: Mamak, Kamil
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8293816/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34307469
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2021.712427
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author Mamak, Kamil
author_facet Mamak, Kamil
author_sort Mamak, Kamil
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description Proponents of welcoming robots into the moral circle have presented various approaches to moral patiency under which determining the moral status of robots seems possible. However, even if we recognize robots as having moral standing, how should we situate them in the hierarchy of values? In particular, who should be sacrificed in a moral dilemma–a human or a robot? This paper answers this question with reference to the most popular approaches to moral patiency. However, the conclusions of a survey on moral patiency do not consider another important factor, namely the law. For now, the hierarchy of values is set by law, and we must take that law into consideration when making decisions. I demonstrate that current legal systems prioritize human beings and even force the active protection of humans. Recent studies have suggested that people would hesitate to sacrifice robots in order to save humans, yet doing so could be a crime. This hesitancy is associated with the anthropomorphization of robots, which are becoming more human-like. Robots’ increasing similarity to humans could therefore lead to the endangerment of humans and the criminal responsibility of others. I propose two recommendations in terms of robot design to ensure the supremacy of human life over that of humanoid robots.
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spelling pubmed-82938162021-07-22 Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots Mamak, Kamil Front Robot AI Robotics and AI Proponents of welcoming robots into the moral circle have presented various approaches to moral patiency under which determining the moral status of robots seems possible. However, even if we recognize robots as having moral standing, how should we situate them in the hierarchy of values? In particular, who should be sacrificed in a moral dilemma–a human or a robot? This paper answers this question with reference to the most popular approaches to moral patiency. However, the conclusions of a survey on moral patiency do not consider another important factor, namely the law. For now, the hierarchy of values is set by law, and we must take that law into consideration when making decisions. I demonstrate that current legal systems prioritize human beings and even force the active protection of humans. Recent studies have suggested that people would hesitate to sacrifice robots in order to save humans, yet doing so could be a crime. This hesitancy is associated with the anthropomorphization of robots, which are becoming more human-like. Robots’ increasing similarity to humans could therefore lead to the endangerment of humans and the criminal responsibility of others. I propose two recommendations in terms of robot design to ensure the supremacy of human life over that of humanoid robots. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-07-07 /pmc/articles/PMC8293816/ /pubmed/34307469 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2021.712427 Text en Copyright © 2021 Mamak. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Robotics and AI
Mamak, Kamil
Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots
title Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots
title_full Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots
title_fullStr Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots
title_full_unstemmed Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots
title_short Whether to Save a Robot or a Human: On the Ethical and Legal Limits of Protections for Robots
title_sort whether to save a robot or a human: on the ethical and legal limits of protections for robots
topic Robotics and AI
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8293816/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34307469
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2021.712427
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