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06 January 2009
Noel Sharkey raises ethical issues in robotics
Professor Noel Sharkey has recently been very active in promoting awareness of the ethical issues associated with the use of robots in caring for the young and old, and on the battlefield.
Professor Sharkey, an expert on artificial intelligence, suggests that robots intended to help care for the elderly are in danger of replacing human care-givers, leaving the elderly in the exclusive care of machines. He is also raising awareness of other ethically charged areas, such as the military use of robots. Missile-armed Predator drones used in Iraq and Afghanistan are essentially robots, and the US Future Combat Systems project aims to make further use of robots in ground and aerial assaults.
An article voicing Professor Sharkey's concerns has been published in the journal Science, and has been further reported by many magazines and newspapers including the Independent.
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