Discrimination against robots: Discussing the ethics of social interactions and who is harmed

Abstract This article discusses the topic of ethics and policy for human interaction with robots. The term “robot ethics” (or roboethics) is generally concerned with ethical problems that may occur when humans and robots interact in social situations or when robots make decisions which could impact human well-being. For example, whether robots pose a threat to humans in warfare, the use of robots as caregivers, or the use of robots which make decisions which could impact historically disadvantaged populations. In each case, the focus of the discussion is predominantly on how to design robots that act ethically toward humans (some refer to this issue as “machine ethics”). Alternatively, robot ethics could refer to the ethics associated with human behavior toward robots especially as robots become active members of society. It is this latter and relatively unexplored view of robot ethics that this article focuses on, and specifically whether robots will be the subject of discriminatory and biased responses from humans based on the robot’s perceived race, gender, or ethnicity. If so, the paper considers what issues are implicated, and how society might respond? From past research, preliminary evidence suggests that acts of discrimination which may be directed against people may also be expressed toward robots experienced in social contexts; therefore, discrimination against robots as a function of their physical design and behavior is an important and timely topic of discussion for robot ethics, human–robot interaction, and the design of social robots.