It’s easy to chuckle at reports that the US Navy is
funding research into creating ethical robots. No doubt the first response
among many movie fans will be to mimic Arnold Schwarzenneger at the climax
of ‘Terminator 2’ – “I know now why you cry, but it’s something I can never
do.”
The fact that the military is taking a lead prompts ideas
about how a machine driven by artificial intelligence could behave in warfare,
or any scenarios in which they would take decisions that could mean life or
death to a human. But there’s also a lot of potential for everyday business in
the idea of an ethical robot.
Despite robotics having an established place in
manufacturing, we’re still a long way from robots – something that looks and
behaves more human – making much of an impact in the workplace. But there are
plenty of convincing prototypes out there and it isn’t difficult to envisage
their descendants carrying out human functions in the next 10 or 20 years.
It’s scary to some, but enticing to businesses that think
about the long term effect on labour costs. Installing robots to interact with
humans is a natural progression from using voice recognition systems in contact
centres or self-service check-outs in supermarkets. Some could also make a case
for robots removing the scope for human error, although it would be interesting
to see how that would stand up to the first robot malfunction.
No doubt it will kick off new arguments about technology
replacing people at work, and agonising over how to resolve that tension while
hanging on to the idea of capitalism working for the common good. But plenty of
businesses will be ready to go for it, and the more forward looking are going
to want their robots to have some ethical capability.
It’s a step towards resolving the problem that faces
businesses using those voice recognition systems and self-service check-outs –
they annoy the hell out of customers. People resent dealing with machines
rather than other people, and usually put up with it because it’s too
inconvenient to go elsewhere. Imagine how that can intensify when they’re faced
with a robot that tells them their train is late, or takes a customer
complaint, or decides they shouldn’t be allowed on a flight. You’re looking at
serious anger.
This is where the better staff prove their worth to an
employer, in showing they empathise with the other person and doing what they
can to alleviate a problem, and even deciding when there’s a decent case to
bend the rules. And this usually comes back to a sense of ethics – when it’s
right to do what would usually be wrong. It’s the show of empathy and evidence
that they are being treated as people that can keep customers on board.
So if a robot can draw on an ethical capability, and convey
some sense of empathy with the human, it can take the sting out of any tension
and resentment that builds up. You might get a customer who, while not
absolutely happy, isn’t going to walk away. It’s not perfect from the
customer’s point of view, but if it’s good enough to keep them walking away it
will good enough for many businesses.
It’s conceivable that within 20 years some businesses will
be marketing their services on the basis that their robots have been created
with an ethical capability that makes them more responsive to a customer’s
circumstances. It may not convince everyone, but they can sell it as being better than leaving
decisions to a machine that doesn’t know when to bend the rules. Ethical robots
could give a business an edge in its market.
