Virtue Ethics For Ethically Tunable Robotic Assistants

TL;DR

This paper proposes a virtue ethics-inspired computational approach to enable robots to be ethically adaptable to diverse and changing environments, demonstrated through elder-care simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel virtue ethics-based method for character-based ethical tuning of robots, addressing the challenge of deploying ethically adaptable robots in varied contexts.

Findings

Successfully tuned robot behavior in elder-care simulation

Ethicist feedback identified potential ethical shortcomings

Demonstrated flexibility of virtue ethics in robotic applications

Abstract

The common consensus is that robots designed to work alongside or serve humans must adhere to the ethical standards of their operational environment. To achieve this, several methods based on established ethical theories have been suggested. Nonetheless, numerous empirical studies show that the ethical requirements of the real world are very diverse and can change rapidly from region to region. This eliminates the idea of a universal robot that can fit into any ethical context. However, creating customised robots for each deployment, using existing techniques is challenging. This paper presents a way to overcome this challenge by introducing a virtue ethics inspired computational method that enables character-based tuning of robots to accommodate the specific ethical needs of an environment. Using a simulated elder-care environment, we illustrate how tuning can be used to change the behaviour of a robot that interacts with an elderly resident in an ambient-assisted environment. Further, we assess the robot's responses by consulting ethicists to identify potential shortcomings.