Report of "IAS-FRIS Symposium on Social Robots and Ethical Design (Nov.14th 2024)(IAS Workshop#001)) "

Ethical Design of Social Robots: How to Create a Better Society

On November 14th, The IAS-FRIS Symposium on Social Robots and Ethical Design was co-held by Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Kyushu University and Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), Tohoku University in Inamori Hall at Kyushu University. 

In this symposium, 14 specialists from all over the world gathered to present their ideas about how to realize a better society through ethical design of social robots. After the opening remarks by Professor Ryu Kojima of IAS, Kyushu University and Professor Toshiyuki Hayase of FRIS, Tohoku University, the 14 specialists presented their ideas and exchanged their thoughts. The keynote speaker Professor Christoph Lütge first explained what the TUM Institute for Ethics in AI mainly does. He then introduced the newly emerging field of AI ethics and Heidegger’s critique of technology, and their implications for AI. He later explained how AI can be used for many different fields, such as food production, but also warned about the risks, and how the EU AI Act regulates them. The other speakers also talked about their research on robots they are working on such as healthcare robots and religious robots, from different perspectives. They especially focused on ethical problems, like how to make sure that humans are in control of all the changes taking place. This made the discussion complicated, but intriguing at the same time. 

 
Professor Christoph Lütge from TUM Institute for Ethics in AI

Each speaker has thoroughly examined and deepened their ideas on their research projects, and the participants were able to gain various insights about social robots. I feel that each speaker has thoroughly examined the robot they are researching from every angle, making this symposium unique and one-of-a-kind, full of originality. 

The next symposium will be held at Aobayama Commons in Tohoku University next autumn. Please consider joining if you’re interested in this topic!

Yasuhisa Hirata: Through physical assistance by robots I want to change people's perception of themselves in a positive way and build a more vibrant society together with robots.
Jim Torresen: There are concerns about privacy, security, and safety when it comes to human-robot interaction. Trade-offs of each risks occur sometimes, and so we must think about what to prioritize in order to make the best robots.
Trent Leopold: The use of religious robots to assist in religious activities has already begun, but it is highly unlikely that spiritual robots with souls will ever come to exist.
Gabriele Trovato: When designing and utilizing religious robots, we must refer not only to robot ethics but also to religious laws, being careful not to cause any disrespectful behavior.
Ruth Lewis: Although the IEEE Technical Society on Social Impacts of Technology (SSIT) technical standards are not prevalent, they have many merits and should be referred more often.
Auxane Boch: She explored human-robot interaction from a psychological perspective, considering principles to avoid possible risks and thinking about the direction of future research.
Melanie Sarantou: She examined the impact of AI on the creativity and legality of art, using examples of indigenous art facing similar issues.
Hilja Autto: When people use robots, they need to feel that they are in control of their own data. It is essential to revise privacy policies.
Zonghao Dong: Physical assistance robots can be further improved by being designed to comply with ethical and legal regulations, so that they will contribute more to improve the quality of life.
Josh Gellers: When thinking about whether we should give rights to Xenobots, it is necessary to approach the issue from different perspectives like environmental ethics or philosophy of technology.
Satoshi Narihara: Human autonomy should increase along with robot autonomy. He explored how these concepts are related by looking at legal issues. 
Juliana Bowles: She discussed the challenges that arise in the use of AI in the medical field, using specific examples to illustrate the issues.
Yueh-Hsuan Weng: He explained how various regulations and standards are formulated to address the "pacing problem" that arises due to the gap between technology and regulation.



*This symposium was held as IAS Workshop #001.