Abstract
In this paper the role of robots in institutional settings is considered and, in particular, the possibility of robots occupying institutional roles. It is argued that robots are not rational agents and, therefore, cannot choose their ultimate ends, including the ultimate collective ends of institutions. Moreover, robots are not moral agents and cannot exercise the moral judgments, including discretionary moral judgments, required of institutional role occupants. Rather robots can only be organisational role occupants performing a restricted range of specialised tasks that do not require moral judgments and doing so in circumscribed domains under the tight control of human beings. Robots in institutional roles are, or ought to be, technological instruments under the control of human agents in the service of the collective goods definitive of the institutions in question.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Social Robots in Social Institutions |
| Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2022 |
| Editors | Raul Hakli, Pekka Makela, Johanna Seibt |
| Place of Publication | Netherlands |
| Publisher | IOS Press BV |
| Pages | 16-22 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Volume | 366 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781643683744, 9781643683751 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781643683744 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
| Event | 5th Robophilosophy Conference: Social Robots in Social Institutions, Robophilosophy 2022 - University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Duration: 16 Aug 2022 → 19 Aug 2022 https://cas.au.dk/en/robophilosophy/conferences/rpc2022 (Conference website) https://cas.au.dk/robophilosophy/conferences/rpc2022/program (Program) |
Publication series
| Name | Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications |
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| Volume | 366 |
| ISSN (Print) | 0922-6389 |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 1879-8314 |
Conference
| Conference | 5th Robophilosophy Conference |
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| Country/Territory | Finland |
| City | Helsinki |
| Period | 16/08/22 → 19/08/22 |
| Other | NOTE - complete proceedings attached to PID 365093523 Social institutions emerge from social practices that coordinate activities by explicit statements of rules, goals, and values. How will institutional structures and practices be transformed if we insert artificial social actors into the physical and symbolic space institutions? This conference features international (multidisciplinary) research in Humanities and Social Sciences in and on social robotics, to explore expected conceptual and practical change by social robotics in public and private institutions, such as public services, legal systems, social and healthcare services, or educational institutions. Robophilosophy 2022, the fifth event in the biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series (robo-philosophy.org) will explore the societal significance of social robots for the future of social institutions with its usual broad scope, embracing both theoretical and practical angles. The event is an invitation to philosophers and other SSH researchers, as well as researchers in social robotics and HRI, to investigate from interdisciplinarily informed perspectives whether and how social robotics as an interdisciplinary endeavour can contribute to the ability of our insititutions to perform their functions in society. |
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