First Law

A robot shall not harm a human being, or by inaction allow a human being to harm it.

Second Law

A robot must obey orders given by humans unless those orders conflict with the First Law.

Third Law

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.

- Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics

Robotics ethics is a relatively new subfield of robotics that focuses on the ethical aspects of designing and implementing automation.

While its origins can be traced back to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics (above), first published in the short story "Runaround" in 1942, only in the last two decades, driven by the work of academic researchers, and later by industry. standards groups and bodies: The field has grown to be a major part of bot conversations.

For example, The European Union funded RoboLaw project drew on contributions from experts in robot ethics in its development of extensive guidelines for European policymakers and lawmakers governing automation and AI deployments. Meanwhile, the IEEE is working on standards designed to ensure that automation and AI conforms with the principles of ethically-guided design and technology functions for the betterment of society.

Robot ethics combines insights from experts in robotics, AI, computer science, and engineering with insights from experts in philosophy, law, psychology and sociology, in an attempt to ensure that automation designs and deployments do not create ethical hazards for individuals and society. For example, considering the growing impact of industrial automation on society, robot ethics experts ask questions such as ‘Should industrial robots be taxed?’ ‘Does the rise of automation change the debate around proposals for a Universal Basic Income?’ and ‘How can we ensure that automation is designed and deployed with ethical considerations in mind?’

The domain of industrial robots is also included in the growing conversation around robot ethics. The rise of collaborative robots, which enable closer interaction between humans and robots than ever before on factory and warehouse floors, has given extra impetus to the topic.

Note: Safety has always been a fundamental principle in the design of industrial robots, and industrial robots must comply with global and regional standards and codes related to safety design and implementation. Robot ethics builds on this well-established knowledge to explore relevant broader ethical considerations such as worker welfare.