In April, the South Korean government is expected to issue a Robot Ethics Charter (currently being drafted by a five-member team that includes futurists and a science fiction writer). BBC is reporting that the Charter—expected to cover standards for users and manufacturers—will be an “ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa.”
Accoding to the South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy, “the government plans to set ethical guidelines concerning the roles and functions of robots as robots are expected to develop strong intelligence in the near future.”
A draft of the proposals says, in part, “In the 21st Century, humanity will coexist with the first alien intelligence we have ever come into contact with—robots. It will be an event rich in ethical, social and economic problems.”
The Ministry of Information and Communication has predicted that every South Korean household will have a robot by 2015 or 2020, and that robots will routinely perform surgery by 2018. These predication are, in part, a response to the country’s aging society, while also acknowledging the accelerating pace of development in robotics.
Last year a British government study predicted that robots could demand the same rights as human beings within the next fifty years. The European Robotics Research Network is also drawing up a set of guidelines on the use of robots.