Robots Among Us

What should a robot do when a child asks it to accompany them to the toilet? Or when a stranger approaches, asking to listen in on a story being read to a child? As social robots become more common in public spaces, questions like these are no longer confined to science fiction—they demand thoughtful, real-world responses. Robots Among Us explores how people expect reading companion robots to behave in morally complex yet everyday scenarios, such as those encountered in public libraries. While a young child may not be expected to navigate such situations alone, a robot might be. But what exactly should it do—and just as importantly, what should it not do?

Using speculative design, the team, helmed by Assistant Professor Jeffrey Chan, crafted everyday-yet-ethical dilemmas around a fictional library robot, identifying design features that could shape appropriate responses. In one scenario, the robot deploys a visible lens cover before accompanying a child to the bathroom, signalling respect for bystander privacy. Beyond design, the project interrogates the limits of AI—revealing when human intervention is non-negotiable. Rather than building new tech, Robots Among Us offers a critical lens on human-robot interaction, contributing to the evolving ethics of social robotics.

View article at: https://doi.org/10.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731326.