EHAZOP: A Proof of Concept Ethical Hazard Analysis of an Assistive Robot

TL;DR

This paper introduces EHAZOP, a novel method adapted from safety engineering to systematically identify ethical hazards in assistive robots, aiming to inform safer and more ethical robotic development.

Contribution

The paper presents EHAZOP, a new structured approach for ethical hazard analysis tailored to assistive robots, filling a gap in current safety and ethical assessment methods.

Findings

EHAZOP successfully identified diverse ethical hazards in assistive robots.

The method demonstrates potential for systematic ethical risk assessment.

Proof of concept shows EHAZOP's applicability in real-world scenarios.

Abstract

The use of assistive robots in domestic environments can raise significant ethical concerns, from the risk of individual ethical harm to wider societal ethical impacts including culture flattening and compromise of human dignity. It is therefore essential to ensure that technological development of these robots is informed by robust and inclusive techniques for mitigating ethical concerns. This paper presents EHAZOP, a method for conducting an ethical hazard analysis on an assistive robot. EHAZOP draws upon collaborative, creative and structured processes originating within safety engineering, using these to identify ethical concerns associated with the operation of a given assistive robot. We present the results of a proof of concept study of EHAZOP, demonstrating the potential for this process to identify diverse ethical hazards in these systems.