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This academic contribution examines sex robots and robot sex from the perspective of machine ethics and applied ethics. It poses questions regarding sex robots as moral agents to assist manufacturers and developers, and evaluates the implications for humans as moral patients. The author concludes that machine ethics can help construct moral service and sex robots, while applied ethics helps evaluate their adequate use.

This report by the Royal Society investigates the potential of machine learning over a 5-10 year horizon, examining its applications across various sectors and the barriers to realizing its potential. It emphasizes the need for an amenable data environment, strong skills pipelines, support for business innovation, and governance systems to address social and ethical challenges. The document provides recommendations on open data standards, education reforms, research investment, and public engagement to ensure the safe and rapid deployment of machine learning.

This academic paper discusses the regulatory and ethical challenges of robotics, focusing on four regulatory dilemmas across law, market, social norms, and technology. It examines issues such as technological pacing, liability, autonomy, privacy, and the human-robot distinction across various application areas including surgical robots, bionic prostheses, care robots, and autonomous vehicles. The paper concludes with guidelines for regulators, emphasizing a foundational framework of fundamental rights, soft law, responsible research and innovation (RRI), and smart regulation.

This editorial discusses the regulatory, ethical, and legal challenges associated with increasing levels of autonomy in medical robotics. To stimulate discussion and address the lack of established definitions, the authors propose a six-level framework of autonomy for medical robotics ranging from no autonomy to full autonomy. The article examines the implications of these varying autonomy levels on risk management, cybersecurity, regulatory pathways like FDA approvals, and medical practice.

This European Parliament resolution provides recommendations to the European Commission on civil law rules for robotics, covering ethical principles, civil liability, intellectual property, standardisation, and sector-specific applications such as autonomous transport, care robots, and medical devices. It proposes a European framework including registration systems for advanced robots and a Charter on Robotics containing codes of conduct for engineers and research ethics committees. The text calls for future legislative instruments based on risk management or strict liability approaches.

This European Parliament resolution contains recommendations to the European Commission on civil law rules for robotics. It addresses general principles, liability, safety, standardisation, ethical frameworks, and specific application areas such as autonomous transport, care robots, medical robots, and human enhancement. The resolution calls for a legislative instrument on robotics and artificial intelligence, including the creation of a European Agency for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

This academic chapter proposes an ethical hierarchy (EH) that encompasses both robots and humans, catalyzed by the question of whether robots can be more moral than humans. The author argues that a mere emphasis on legal obligations for robots is inadequate and that most current deontic logics are morally inexpressive. The work highlights the need for formalizing intrinsic goodness and badness in ethical frameworks for artificial intelligence.

This academic book chapter examines non-contractual liability rules for harms caused by intelligent and autonomous systems. It proposes a typology of approaches for addressing liability, maintains that the traditional robot-as-tool perspective should be preserved, and highlights the need for new computational and legal techniques to track responsibility effectively. The chapter discusses specific technological domains such as surgical robots, autonomous vehicles, and high-frequency trading.

This academic chapter analyzes 27 peer-reviewed papers involving children-robot studies to examine how robot ethics are described and reported. The authors found that 63% of the analyzed studies failed to state any ethical procedures followed, highlighting problematic applications of robot ethics in research. The outcomes emphasize the necessity for the publishing industry to take stricter actions regarding ethical reporting in publications.

This document explores the policy, ethical, and technical challenges surrounding the robotic use of force and autonomous weapon systems in international security. It examines accountability, legal compliance, and the philosophical implications of delegating lethal decisions to machines. The work provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the governance and deployment of automata in modern warfare.

This 2017 report by the Rathenau Instituut examines the human rights challenges arising from the use of robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented reality. Authored by R. van Est and L. Kool, it explores the societal and ethical implications of these emerging technologies in a 58-page popularizing report.

This academic article and legal commentary proposes a "Fourth Law of Robotics" to complement Jack Balkin's three laws for an algorithmic society. The author argues that preserving attribution, responsibility, and explainability is essential for preventing algorithmic harms and establishing robust accountability mechanisms. It examines the regulation of automated systems, the concept of algorithmic nuisance, and the attribution problem in robotics and artificial intelligence.

This academic paper examines the ethical, social, and biomedical implications of creating and using robots with physiological and sexual interaction capabilities with humans. It reviews various researcher positions, ranging from critical ethical concerns regarding women's rights and objectification to utilitarian views seeing such technology as a natural market and social progression. The author analyzes these technologies through the lenses of bioethical principles and Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

This report by the Executive Office of the President investigates the expected impacts of AI-driven automation on the U.S. job market and macroeconomy. It analyzes historical trends in technological change, predicts near-term labor market disruptions particularly affecting lower-skilled workers, and outlines three broad policy strategies: investing in AI development, educating and training workers for future jobs, and aiding workers through transitions while empowering labor.

This academic paper examines the consumer protection challenges raised by emerging consumer robotics, such as fraud, surveillance, and psychological manipulation. The author argues that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is well-positioned to regulate consumer robotics using its existing authority over deceptive practices, disclosures, design choices, and data security. By focusing on communications, design, and organizational procedures, the FTC can protect consumers while allowing the robotics industry to flourish.

This study explores how older people and their formal and informal carers perceive six ethical values—autonomy, safety, enablement, independence, privacy, and social connectedness—in relation to social care robots. Conducting 21 focus groups across France, the Netherlands, and the UK as part of the ACCOMPANY project, the research examined how participants believed potential conflicts and tensions between these values should be resolved. The findings indicate that participants generally prioritized autonomy over other values (except safety), favored compromise and negotiation over coercion, and emphasized the ongoing need for human interaction and individualized pre-introduction agreements.

This report by Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic elaborates on the legal, moral, and security dangers posed by fully autonomous weapons and makes the case for a preemptive international ban on their development, production, and use. It evaluates 16 common arguments and contentions raised by critics of a ban, concluding that existing laws and alternative regulatory frameworks are insufficient to handle the unique risks of lethal autonomous systems. The document urges states to adopt a legally binding international treaty prohibiting these weapons.

This academic paper examines the ethical and philosophical issues arising from the rapid development of robotics and artificial intelligence systems. It focuses on specific applications such as autonomous weaponry and self-driving vehicles, discussing the moral dilemmas of delegating decision-making and responsibility to machines. The author highlights the need for separate study of these moral aspects as automated systems become more widespread.

This academic paper examines the ethical challenges of automating ethical decision-making in robots and self-driving cars, arguing that such automation can lead to morally problematic paternalism and threaten user autonomy. The author proposes five specifications for ethics evaluation tools in robotics design, emphasizing a user-centered and proportional approach. Additionally, a sample ethics evaluation tool is sketched to help designers, ethicists, and policymakers distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable design features.

This academic article examines proposals to grant robots legal personality with the aim of exonerating creators and users from liability. It analyzes the attributes of legal personhood and the justifications for separate personality in corporations and idols, while also examining the refusal of legal personality for animals. The author concludes that robots are ineligible to be recognized as legal persons based on established requirements of personhood.

This research paper explores model extraction attacks against machine learning models deployed with publicly accessible query interfaces. The authors demonstrate that adversaries with black-box access can duplicate the functionality of popular models such as logistic regression, neural networks, and decision trees using efficient equation-solving or path-finding techniques. Furthermore, the paper shows that these attacks can exploit confidence values returned by APIs to reduce query costs and potentially leak sensitive training data.

The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan outlines federal priorities for artificial intelligence research and development. It establishes seven key strategies covering long-term investments, human-AI collaboration, ethical and legal implications, safety and security, shared public datasets, standards and benchmarks, and workforce needs. The plan aims to drive scientific discovery while mitigating risks and ensuring responsible, safe, and beneficial uses of AI.

This academic paper reviews general ethical theories and existing frameworks in robot ethics, with a specific focus on personal care robots for elderly and disabled populations. It examines key ethical issues such as privacy, data protection, safety, and social impact, and recommends applying consequentialism ethics to robot ethics frameworks. The paper suggests that prioritizing the consequences of robot actions helps minimize risks and ethical issues in assistive technologies.

This academic paper proposes extending the Care Centered Value Sensitive Design (CCVSD) approach from healthcare settings to personal and professional service robots across other domains. It argues that CCVSD can be applied outside of healthcare when a service robot is integrated into a care practice that meets two conditions: being a response to needs and involving reciprocal interaction. The author establishes a framework for evaluating how service robots impact human relationships, roles, responsibilities, and care values.

This literature review examines the impact and legal implications of robotic system malfunctions in surgery based on published data and the FDA MAUDE database. It finds that device malfunctions are relatively rare and highlights that while surgeons generally bear little direct legal responsibility for equipment failures, proper technical training and patient informed consent regarding potential device failure are necessary.

This academic paper evaluates the ethical and social implications of human-robot relationships, particularly focusing on whether unidirectional emotional bonds with socially interactive robots can contribute to human well-being and the good life. It explores concepts such as technical mediation, robot ethics, the ontological status of social robots, and concerns surrounding deception and potential impacts on human society. Ultimately, the paper calls for a multidisciplinary approach to understand human-robot interactions and to guide the responsible design of future robotics.

This academic paper examines the ethical, legal, and social implications of integrating social and assistive robotics into dementia care. It highlights the challenges of global public health regarding older adults and provides recommendations for research and clinical practice to protect vulnerable users. The authors emphasize considering ethical issues early in the development process to ensure appropriate implementation and maximize benefits.

This research paper demonstrates an inherent limitation in building ethical robots, showing that the specific AI architectures required to make a robot ethical can be easily exploited to construct competitive or aggressive robots with minimal code modifications. The authors argue that preventing the misuse of robots is beyond the scope of engineering alone and requires robust governance frameworks and legislation. Through experiments with humanoid robots, they illustrate how altruistic behavior can be quickly transformed into egoistic or malicious actions.

This document outlines Estonia's national open science policy, detailing principles and recommendations for providing open access to publicly funded research publications and research data. Prepared by the Open Science Expert Group of the Estonian Research Council in June 2016, it establishes strategic objectives for 2020 such as ensuring free public accessibility of research articles and data, utilizing open licenses like Creative Commons, and integrating data management plans into funding conditions.

This journal article examines the research challenges and ethical problems associated with multielectrode array (MEA)-based robotics, where neuron cultures are connected to virtual or mechanical robots. The author argues that researchers risk overstating their results due to unresolved fundamental difficulties, specifically the coding, embodiment, and training problems. The paper also discusses whether the field constitutes pop science and investigates its broader ethical implications.

This briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service examines the development, deployment, and regulation of automated and connected vehicles in the European Union. It outlines the technical levels of vehicle automation, potential safety and environmental benefits, and key policy challenges including cybersecurity, data privacy, liability, and needed adjustments to international traffic conventions. The text also reviews ongoing legislative, technical, and research activities at both the EU and international levels.

This academic paper proposes 'Integrative Social Robotics' (ISR) as a new methodological paradigm to address the descriptive and regulatory challenges of social robotics by combining empirical research with value-theoretic inquiry from the humanities and social sciences. It argues that descriptive questions about what social robots can do and normative questions about what they should do must be treated concurrently from the very beginning of the design and development process. The ISR approach functions as user-driven design writ large, where the creation of robotics applications is continuously guided by the reflected normative preferences of a cultural community.

This document outlines a regulatory and architectural framework for a cloud-based system supporting LEGO play-based robot-mediated therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It details the integration of cloud architecture, robotics, and therapeutic protocols to assist children with ASD. The framework addresses technical, operational, and clinical considerations necessary for deploying robot-assisted interventions safely and effectively.

This report examines the macroeconomic and structural impacts of accelerating technological change and automation on employment, productivity, inflation, and global trade. Produced in partnership with the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford, it explores which countries, industries, and cities are most susceptible to automation while identifying potential policy responses. The study emphasizes the need for workforce reskilling, educational adaptation, and active labor market policies to manage the transition.

The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan establishes a set of objectives for federally-funded AI research, both within the government and externally in academia. It identifies key priorities such as long-term AI investments, human-AI collaboration, ethical and legal implications, safety, shared public datasets, standards, and workforce needs. The plan aims to produce new AI knowledge and technologies that benefit society while minimizing negative impacts.

This academic article examines civil liability and tort damages caused by autonomous robots equipped with artificial intelligence, proposing them as quasi-parties in civil relations. The authors introduce a classification system for tort obligations resulting from robot actions based on the object of the obligation, the level of damage, the responsible party, and the economic sector. The framework aims to reduce procedural costs in court cases and help assign responsibility among inventors, programmers, manufacturers, owners, or third parties before robots are formally recognized as legal subjects.

This academic paper examines the ethical risks posed by unidirectional emotional bonds between humans and autonomous social robots. It highlights how social machines might exploit human emotional propensities without true reciprocity and suggests requiring robots to include affect-processing mechanisms to counter these threats.

The Government of Jamaica Communication Policy provides a comprehensive framework for a well-managed and coordinated communication machinery across all government institutions. It aims to promote the effective dissemination of official information, proactive disclosure, and meaningful engagement with citizens, including those in the diaspora. The policy establishes guiding principles, corporate identity standards, research methodologies, and protocols for risk, crisis, and social media communication.

This document establishes a comprehensive communication policy for the Government of Jamaica to coordinate information dissemination, promote transparency, and encourage citizen participation. Prepared by the Office of the Prime Minister in November 2015, the policy outlines operational guidelines for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies regarding public access to information, corporate branding, risk and crisis communication, and the use of digital and social media. It aims to ensure that official information is accurate, timely, and accessible to all citizens both locally and in the diaspora.

The Communication Policy of the Government of Jamaica provides a comprehensive framework for a well-managed and coordinated communication machinery across government institutions. It aims to promote the effective dissemination of official information, proactive disclosure, branding standards, digital media adoption, and meaningful engagement with the people of Jamaica and the diaspora. The policy establishes clear guiding principles, pillars of communication responsibility, and operational guidelines for crisis communication, media relations, and public consultation to foster transparency and accountability.

This academic article explores the challenges of ascribing legal responsibility when autonomous, learning robots cause damage. It discusses difficulties in proving cause and liability, suggests potential legal statuses such as electronic personhood for autonomous machines, and examines how transferring decision-making to machines impacts societal normative concepts.

This document outlines an ethical framework for managing active and healthy aging through the use of caring service robots within the MARIO project. It evaluates existing literature and debates on care robotics, categorising ethical effects into a multi-layered framework including care integration, quality of care, functionalities, core capabilities, and dementia-specific concerns. The report provides structured ethical evaluations of MARIO use cases, robot morphology, and ICT capabilities to support responsible research and development.

This graduate thesis from Drexel University examines the ethics, economics, spatiality, and embodied care associated with robotically-assisted minimally-invasive surgery, focusing on the da Vinci Surgical System manufactured by Intuitive Surgical Inc. The study employs qualitative research methods, including marketing material content analysis, interviews with surgical professionals, and participant-observation at a professional lecture. It explores how technological innovations in healthcare intersect with corporate marketing, surgical power dynamics, bodily discipline, and questions of healthcare justice.

This paper presents an exploratory survey on stakeholder expectations regarding the ethical and social acceptability of using robots in therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It examines issues of trust, appearance, and attachment, arguing that robots should operate with supervised autonomy rather than replacing human therapists. The findings suggest that zoomorphic robot designs may be less problematic than human-like appearances.

This paper discusses three crucial factors as principles to guide robotic simulation of emotion to increase human ability to make reasonable assessments of robot trustworthiness and appropriate reliance. It proposes that displays of affect reflecting internal states could provide useful evidence for evaluating robot agent trustworthiness. The three factors requiring investigation are the correlation of affective signals to internal states, fidelity in emotion portrayal, and correct human interpretation of the signals.

This document is an extended abstract for a workshop on the emerging policy and ethics of human-robot interaction (HRI). It outlines goals to cultivate a multidisciplinary network of scholars, serve as a forum for guided discussion on pressing ethical and policy issues, and create a working consensus document for the community. The text highlights the historical disconnect between technologists and policy researchers and aims to bridge this gap.

This academic chapter argues that ethical and legal control of future AI and robots will be dangerously brittle unless computational deontic logics or moral principles are embedded directly at the operating-system level. Authored by researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, it emphasizes that logic-based ethical engineering is essential for dependable machine moral reasoning. The work is published as part of a construction manual for robot ethical systems.

This academic book chapter provides an overview of the main ethical, legal, and societal challenges concerning the use of care robots in response to demographic aging and changing social norms. It discusses the various forms of robotics proposed to address elderly and disabled care, ranging from humanoids to distributed task-specific systems. The chapter synthesizes existing literature and considerations regarding assistive and caregiving technologies.

This academic book chapter examines the ethical, legal, and technical considerations surrounding robots as both multiuse tools and autonomous agents capable of interacting in open environments. It reviews existing ethical frameworks including the EPSRC Principles of Robotics, the STOA Making Perfect Life project, and the MEESTAR instrument to address challenges in assistive technologies and human-robot interaction. The chapter synthesizes these approaches to discuss dimensions such as care, autonomy, safety, privacy, equity, and participation.

This academic chapter investigates the psychology and ethics of persuasive social robots, focusing on how they can influence human behavior while maintaining moral acceptability and psychological effectiveness. The authors evaluate user autonomy using deontological ethical theories and combine these insights in a case study analysing persuasive strategies used by a robot acting as a clothing store clerk. Ultimately, the text highlights the need to integrate sound technology, effective persuasive principles, and careful ethical considerations.