As governments across the globe face aging populations and shrinking budgets, the workforce is increasingly filled by robots and artificial intelligence (AI). From military drones to assistive robots in healthcare, automation has become a feasible reality. However, as these smart services move from in-lab testing to our streets and offices, we face a difficult question: can a machine ever truly be ethical?
One of the most common fears regarding AI is that it lacks the capacity for true emotion. To combat this, designers have adopted more anthropomorphic or human-like robot designs. A recent study published in Government Information Quarterly by Jurgen Willems and colleagues explored whether giving a robot a smiling face makes citizens trust its ethical judgment more.
Interestingly, the research found that while a human-like face grabs our attention faster, it doesn’t change how we judge the robot’s actions. This suggests that we as a society are more action-oriented; as long as the AI is programmed to act ethically, the public will eventually come to accept robots roaming the streets as the norm.
For something as spontaneous as a car accident or a medical emergency, an AI decision could be the determining factor between life and death.
The core of the debate is the clash between beneficence and autonomy. Most proponents against automation point to the distinction that AI is unable to understand and handle sensitive situations, especially refusals of service. The fear is that a robot, following an algorithmic logic of saving lives, might override a human right to choose and act in a way that does more harm.
Since the current work landscape is made up of predominantly human workers who are prone to error, bias, and fatigue, an automated system could account for those pitfalls. These systems can be programmed to provide a consistent level of care based on a standardized set of ethical rules. For something as spontaneous as a car accident or a medical emergency, an AI decision could be the determining factor between life and death.
While automation promises to streamline efficiency and reduce the physical burdens on public workers, it simultaneously puts job security at risk. The challenge isn’t just about how the robot treats people, but how current workers can maintain a livelihood after being replaced.
The benefits in the long run: safer streets, more efficient hospitals, and a more independent elderly population, outweigh the cons.
A transition to robotized services is only ethical if it provides a means for work elsewhere, perhaps by adapting existing jobs to work alongside technology. As noted in Farah Stockman’s American Made, without work, you lose a sense of self and pride. What you do is synonymous with who you are, whether consciously or subconsciously.
The evidence from the study above highlights the truth that “it is not the more human-like appearance that influences evaluations of ethicalness, but a robot’s ethical actions influence the extent to which it is perceived as human.”
In other words, if a robot acts with transparency and care, we will eventually stop seeing it as a hunk of metal and start seeing it as an equal. The benefits in the long run: safer streets, more efficient hospitals, and a more independent elderly population, outweigh the cons.
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