Programmed to do good

The categorical imperative as a key to moral behavior of social robots

Journal Article (2023)
Author(s)

Matthias Fink (Grenoble Ecole de Management, Johannes Kepler University Linz)

Daniela Maresch (Grenoble Ecole de Management)

J. Gartner (TU Delft - Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship)

Department
Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship
Copyright
© 2023 Matthias Fink, Daniela Maresch, J. Gartner
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122793
More Info
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Publication Year
2023
Language
English
Copyright
© 2023 Matthias Fink, Daniela Maresch, J. Gartner
Department
Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship
Volume number
196
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Abstract

Social robots—such as autonomous vehicles, service robots, or healthcare robots—are designed to support tasks in a broad range of human activities. However, these robots face moral dilemmas because they must make decisions that may do good for one human but potentially inflict harm on another. We argue that Kant's categorical imperative provides a framework for algorithm-based moral decision-making. By systematically addressing ethical concerns from the outset in the development of the algorithms that steer social robots, their designers can help ensure that such robots promote the well-being of individuals, communities, and society. We conclude that those involved in the development of social robots need to embed ethics into their design and functioning. The solutions to the ethical dilemmas we advance in this paper can help improve the adoption and impact of social robots. The presented insights contribute to research, practice, and policy.