Integrative Robo-Ethics: Uncovering Roboticists’ Attitudes to Ethics and Moving Forward

This article proposes an integrative approach to robotics research, based on bringing interdisciplinarity into the lab. Such an approach will facilitate researchers across various fields in gaining a more nuanced understanding of technology, how it is developed, and its potential impacts. We describe how a philosopher spent time embedded in robotics labs in different European countries as part of an interdisciplinary team, gaining insights into their work and perspectives, including how robotics researchers view ethical issues related to robotics research. Focusing on issues raised by the EU Parliamentary Motion on Robotics, we developed a seminar and questionnaire that investigated questions of ethics, electronic personhood and the role of policy in research ethics. Our findings highlight that while robotics researchers care about the ethical implications of their work and support policy that addresses ethical concerns, they believe there to be significant misunderstandings in how policy makers view robotics and AI, as well as a lack of understanding of, and trust in, the role that experts outside of robotics can play in regulating robotics research effectively. We propose that an integrative approach can break down these misunderstandings by demystifying the way that knowledge is created across different fields.