RoboTed: a case study in Ethical Risk Assessment

TL;DR

This paper introduces Ethical Risk Assessment (ERA) as an extension of traditional risk assessment, demonstrated through a case study of RoboTed, a smart robot toy, highlighting its role in promoting ethical and sustainable robotics.

Contribution

The paper presents ERA within Responsible Robotics and illustrates its application through a detailed case study of RoboTed, emphasizing ethical considerations in robot design.

Findings

ERA helps identify ethical risks in robotics

Design changes based on ERA improve robot ethics

Case study demonstrates practical value of ERA

Abstract

Risk Assessment is a well known and powerful method for discovering and mitigating risks, and hence improving safety. Ethical Risk Assessment uses the same approach but extends the envelope of risk to cover ethical risks in addition to safety risks. In this paper we outline Ethical Risk Assessment (ERA) and set ERA within the broader framework of Responsible Robotics. We then illustrate ERA with a case study of a hypothetical smart robot toy teddy bear: RoboTed. The case study shows the value of ERA and how consideration of ethical risks can prompt design changes, resulting in a more ethical and sustainable robot.