Japanese Roboethics, Intercultural, and Legislation Issues

Abstract

Japanese people view their artifacts and robots with affection, give them names and set them in the ethical system based on the ‘animism’ point of view (Rinri ethics). In Rinri, a robot is regarded to have a ‘spirit’, and an ‘identity’ with its owner while he/she uses it. In the West, this Japanese affinity for robots is attributed to the indigenous Japanese spirituality (Shinto).Other indigenous cultural Japanese traditions are the ‘social appearance’ (Seken-tei), and the ‘duty’ or ‘obligation’ (Giri) that arises from a social interaction with another person. This chapter starts with a general overview of the above Japanese indigenous culture and ethics, and discusses the basic aspects of Japanese roboethics. Then, the chapter presents some fundamental aspects of intercultural philosophy, infoethics and roboethics, and provides a brief description of robot legislation in the West and the East.

To the city and to the individual it is advantageous

to enact the common interest and not the personal.

Plato

A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every

member of it is personally responsible for his society.

Thomas Jefferson