Ethics Newsline®

SEOUL
Several major publications last week carried an update on a story from the far frontier of ethics: the ethics of robots and artificial intelligence.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that a group of scientists called the European Robotics Research Network is taking the question seriously, issuing a report titled “Roboethics Roadmap.” The report predicts that sometime in this century robots will be considered intelligent enough, perhaps even self-aware enough, to be considered a species all their own. The report concludes: “It will be an event rich in ethical, social, and economic problems.”

Nowhere is the issue more time-sensitive than in South Korea, where the government has set an official goal of having a robot in every home by 2013. The Edmonton Journal notes that South Korea, a nation where robots are being developed for tasks as diverse as guarding the border and caring for the elderly, is drawing up a code of ethics for robots.

Forbes reports that Korea’s “Robot Ethics Charter” will be released by the end of this year. The document is expected to include guidelines to keep robots from being used for undesirable purposes or causing danger to humans. The charter also will ensure that humans keep control over robots and that the data gathered by the devices is secured.