• Home
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Date/Time
  • Login
  • Subscribe

logo

  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
Home
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • Home

Do we need robot laws?

Sponsored feature

Robots are increasingly taking on human tasks. When things go wrong companies need to be held accountable

by Noel Sharkey, Aimee van Wynsberghe / January 30, 2017 / Leave a comment
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email
A member of staff shows ways to talk with an intelligent robot at Jinan West Railway Station in Jinan, China. Three intelligent robots offer information services to passengers in the railway station. (© Photo by Xinhua/Sipa USA)

A member of staff shows ways to talk with an intelligent robot at Jinan West Railway Station in Jinan, China. Three intelligent robots offer information services to passengers in the railway station. (© Photo by Xinhua/Sipa USA)

We could be rushing headlong into a revolution in robotics without due caution. Industrial robots are not a new phenomenon: but now there is an upsurge in service robots for everything from healthcare to the care of children and the elderly; from cooking and preparing food to making and serving cocktails; from domestic cleaning to agriculture and farming; from policing, security and killing in armed conflict to monitoring climate change; and from robot surgery, to robot intimacy and protecting endangered species.

There were 4.7 million robots sold for personal and domestic use in 2014 including a 542 per cent increase in assistive robots for the elderly and disabled. This figure is forecast to rise to 35 million by 2018 at a conservative estimate. And the predictions do not include the rapid developments of driverless technology. Autonomous cars, trucks and buses are set to change our roads forever and revolutionise our transport and delivery services. Not to mention how our farming practices will change with automated tractors, ploughers and threshing machines.

The lure of massive new international markets is pushing governments and corporations to view robotics as a powerful econom…

YOU’VE HIT THE LIMIT

You have now reached your limit of 3 free articles in the last 30 days.
But don’t worry! You can get another 7 articles absolutely free, simply by entering your email address in the box below.

When you register we’ll also send you a free e-book—Writing with punch—which includes some of the finest writing from our archive of 22 years. And we’ll also send you a weekly newsletter with the best new ideas in politics and philosophy of culture, which you can of course unsubscribe from at any time







Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

13728844655c6cceae7253a2.28599075

Go to comments

Related articles

Escaping checkmate: why human chess has survived the robot conquest
David Edmonds / October 18, 2018
Computers can now easily beat grandmasters. But as the World Chess Championship...
Driverless cars: when a crash is unavoidable, who should they save?
Julian Baggini / November 13, 2018
The answers people give to this question can be both fascinating and disturbing
Share with friends
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email

Comments

No comments yet

Prospect's free newsletter

The big ideas that are shaping our world—straight to your inbox. PLUS a free e-book and 7 articles of your choosing on the Prospect website.

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information. Click here to learn more about these purposes and how we use your data. You will be able to opt-out of further contact on the next page and in all our communications.

This Month's Magazine

Perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus.

Prospect is the leading magazine of ideas. Each month it is packed with the finest writing on politics, culture, economics and ideas. Subscribe today and join the debate.

Subscribe

Most Popular

  • Read
  • Commented

This proposal for breaking the Brexit deadlock deserves serious consideration

The Duel: Has modern architecture ruined Britain?

The invigorating strangeness of Friedrich Nietzsche

The naïve optimism of Liam Fox

What the row over Winston Churchill's legacy is really about

The Conservative Party has a problem—it’s no longer conservative

5 Comments

Ruling out no deal is the wrong sort of red line

2 Comments

The impact of Brexit on services has not received nearly enough attention

2 Comments

Even if Britain stays in Europe, we need a new constitutional settlement

2 Comments

If May's deal is in flames, Labour should not seek to put out the fire

2 Comments

About authors

Noel Sharkey
Noel Sharkey PhD DSc FRIN FRSA FBCS CITP FIET is Emeritus Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics as well as Public Engagement at the University of Sheffield. He chairs the NGO: International Committee for Robot Arms Control and is co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics at the Hague Global Institute for Justice
Aimee van Wynsberghe
Aimee van Wynsberghe PhD is assistant professor of ethics and technology at the Technical University of Delft. She is co-director and President of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics. See responsiblerobotics.org.

Next Prospect events

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club—Diarmaid MacCulloch

    London, 2019-05-20

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club—Sue Prideaux

    2019-04-15

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club—Andrew Roberts

    2019-03-14

See more events

Sponsored features

  • Reforming the pension system to work for the many

  • Putting savers in the driving seat: getting the pensions dashboard right

  • To fix the housing crisis we need fresh thinking

  • Tata Steel UK: Driving innovation for the future of mobility

  • The road to zero

PrimeTime

The magazine is owned and supported by the Resolution Group, as part of its not-for-profit, public interest activities.

Follow us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • RSS

Editorial

Editor: Tom Clark
Deputy Editor: Steve Bloomfield
Managing Editor (Arts & Books): Sameer Rahim
Head of Digital: Stephanie Boland
Deputy Digital Editor (Political Correspondent): Alex Dean
Creative Director: Mike Turner
Production Editor & Designer: Chris Tilbury
US Writer-at-Large: Sam Tanenhaus

Commercial

Commercial Director: Alex Stevenson
Head of Marketing: Paul Mortimer
Marketing and Circulations Executive: James Hawkins
Programme Coordinator: Oliver James Ward
Head of Advertising Sales: Adam Kinlan 020 3372 2934
Senior Account Manager: Dominic Slonecki 0203 372 2972

  • Home
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Acceptable Use Policy
© Prospect Publishing Limited
×
Login
Login with your subscriber account:
You need a valid subscription to login.
I am
Remember Me


Forgotten password?

Or enter with social networking:
Login to post comments using social media accounts.
  • With Twitter
  • Connect
  • With Google +
×
Register Now

Register today and access any 7 articles on the Prospect’s website for FREE in the next 30 days..
PLUS find out about the big ideas that will shape our world—with Prospect’s FREE newsletter sent to your inbox. We'll even send you our e-book—Writing with punch—with some of the finest writing from the Prospect archive, at no extra cost!

Not Now, Thanks

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

×
You’ve got full access!

It looks like you are a Prospect subscriber.

Prospect subscribers have full access to all the great content on our website, including our entire archive.

If you do not know your login details, simply close this pop-up and click 'Login' on the black bar at the top of the screen, then click 'Forgotten password?', enter your email address and press 'Submit'. Your password will then be emailed to you.

Thank you for your support of Prospect and we hope that you enjoy everything the site has to offer.

This site uses cookies to improve the user experience. By using this site, you agree that we can set and use these cookies. For more details on the cookies we use and how to manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy.