Beyond Robot Ethics: On a Legislative Consortium for Social Robotics

As robots are increasingly integrated into human society, associated problems will resemble or merge with those in other fields — we can refer to this phenomenon as the ‘robot sociability problem’. In this paper, the author first analyzes the dynamic relationship between robot ethics, robotics and robot law, and then proposes a ‘practical robots’ approach for solving the robot sociability problem. As this approach is based on legal regulations, the author posits that a functional platform such as a ‘legislative consortium for social robotics’ is crucial at the initial stage for social robotics development. In conclusion, the author discusses how a legislative consortium for social robotics will be a useful approach for solving the robot sociability problem, especially emerging structural legislative problems that are related to autonomous robots. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden and The Robotics Society of Japan, 2010