Robot Ethics and the Innovation Economy

Book excerpt: This book provides an authoritative resource on the topic of intelligent robots, artificial intelligence and the ethical implications of these revolutionary innovations. It examines the moral and ethical problems that arise in relation to the development, design and use of intelligent robots, which are capable of autonomous or semi-autonomous decision-making. These problems might relate, for example, to medical robots, driverless cars, intelligent military drones, pedagogical robots, police robots, legal robots and many others. The main question addressed in this book is how we can understand, explain and apply the concept of ethics in relation to intelligent robots and artificial intelligence. In each chapter, the author examines a different aspect of this question. The author also questions how we can ensure that intelligent robots are of service to humans and under what conditions intelligent robots could become more ethical than humans. The book employs an original approach to examining this cutting-edge research question, combining different research areas, and offers a wealth of practical relevance and real-world examples, illustrated through vivid case studies. With its jargon free approach and a dedicated chapter on relevant concepts at the end, this book is also accessible to readers without prior knowledge on intelligent robots and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. By providing a general account of this debate, and of the consequences of the innovations resulting from these trends, the book serves as an important contribution to the discussion and will find a natural readership among scholars and students of the innovation economy and those concerned with the ethical considerations arising in the wake of the Fourth Industrial Revolution