Robot Ethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics (Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents series) [Hardcover]

Patrick Lin (Editor), Keith Abney (Editor), George A. Bekey (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2011 | Series: Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents series

Robots today serve in many roles, from entertainer to educator to executioner. As robotics technology advances, ethical concerns become more pressing: Should robots be programmed to follow a code of ethics, if this is even possible? Are there risks in forming emotional bonds with robots? How might society--and ethics--change with robotics? This volume is the first book to bring together prominent scholars and experts from both science and the humanities to explore these and other questions in this emerging field. Starting with an overview of the issues and relevant ethical theories, the topics flow naturally from the possibility of programming robot ethics to the ethical use of military robots in war to legal and policy questions, including liability and privacy concerns. The contributors then turn to human-robot emotional relationships, examining the ethical implications of robots as sexual partners, caregivers, and servants. Finally, they explore the possibility that robots, whether biological-computational hybrids or pure machines, should be given rights or moral consideration. Ethics is often slow to catch up with technological developments. This authoritative and accessible volume fills a gap in both scholarly literature and policy discussion, offering an impressive collection of expert analyses of the most crucial topics in this increasingly important field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is an excellent primer on ethics and philosophy. It is definitely accessible to an undergraduate student--perhaps in the context of an undergraduate engineering ethics course. It is also a valuable reference for roboticists, providing an awareness of the social concerns related to their research." -- R. S. Stansbury, Choice

About the Author

Patrick Lin is a philosopher and Director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group, based at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Keith Abney is a philosopher of science and Senior Lecturer at California Polytechnic State University.

George A. Bekey is Professor Emeritus in Computer Science at University of Southern California and Distinguished Professor of Engineering at California Polytechnic State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (December 9, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262016664
• ISBN-13: 978-0262016667
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #489,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Keith Abney was educated at Emory University, Fuller Seminary, and the University of Notre Dame. His research interests include the ethics of autonomous military robots, the ethics of human enhancement, space ethics, and other topics in the ethics and metaethics of emerging technologies. He has served on a hospital bioethics board and in his spare time enjoys being an amateur winemaker. He is co-editor (with George Bekey and Patrick Lin) of the forthcoming book "Robot Ethics" (MIT Press, 2011).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Higly readable coverage of an area of great current interest October 26, 2012

By Bo Sanden

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I wouldn't be aware of this book had I not served as a reader on a dissertation in the area of robot ethics. To an non-expert in the immediate field it provides what well-rounded coverage. It is surprisingly easy to read; only a couple of chapters come across as a little dry. As I went through it, I noted Blay Whitby's Chapter 15 as particularly strong; Steve Petersen's Chapter 18 as quite brilliant; Rob Sparrow's Chapter 19 as particularly interesting philosophically; and Anthony Beavers's Chapter 21 as a great discussion of whether it will be sufficient for robots merely to perform as thinking and caring entities while actually being neither in any real sense.

3.0 out of 5 stars Are robots capable of ethical behavior? May 11, 2013

By Arthur Lambert

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Another view of the robot ethics problems. Again, like Moral Machines, it is somewhat more technical than needed to really get the message out.

5.0 out of 5 stars Most helpful book I've read as novice in the field March 4, 2013

By James Carmine

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book actually changed my view of whether or not robots will some day become thinking machines and, more interestingly, regardless whether or not they actually do care about us whether we should treat them with some modicum of respect as if they did. If you want to begin to think seriously about Robot Ethics, this is the perfect place to begin. It would also work well as a text book in an ethics class.