Definition
This chapter explores the ethical and legal implications arising from the environmental impact of robotics. Robots are defined as constructed physical objects (which may or may not incorporate artificial intelligence) that can move and interact with the world. By ethics, we are concerned with normative ethics, i.e., moral standards with practical implications. It is argued that the sustainable development goals (SDGs) constitute an (already agreed upon) basic normative scaffold that will underpin the regulations determining the environmental impact that widespread use of robotics will have.
Introduction
In the coming years and decades, more innovation in the field of robotics is expected. Robots, as opposed to artificial intelligence (AI), are physical artifacts that can move to a degree and interact with the world. Whil some may incorporate AI and be directed or controlled by an AI, others will just follow simple instructions. They may have different forms: exoskeletons,...
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Arendt H (1958) The human condition, 2nd edn. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Beaumont P (2019, April 24) Rotten eggs: E-waste from Europe poisons Ghana’s food chain. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/apr/24/rotten-chicken-eggs-e-waste-from-europe-poisons-ghana-food-chain-agbogbloshie-accra
Bostrom N, Cirkovic MM (eds) (2011) Global catastrophic risks. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Brennan A, Lo Y-S (2016) Environmental ethics. In Zalta EN (ed) The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (winter 2016). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/ethics-environmental/
Danley C (2020) Diving to new depths: how green energy markets can push mining companies into the deep sea, and why nations must balance mineral exploitation with marine conservation. William Mary Environ Law Policy Rev 44(1):219
Diehl R, Thue MI (2016) Autonomous vehicle testing legislation: a review of best practices from states on the cutting edge. J Technol Law Policy 21:197
Diehl R, Thue I (2017) Autonomous Vehicle Testing Legislation: A Review Of Best Practices From States On The Cutting Edge, 21 J. Tech. L. & Pol’y 197
European Commission (2013) Eco-innovation: the key to Europe’s future competitiveness. Publications Office of the EU, Luxembourg
GAO (2017) Internet of things: FCC should track growth to ensure sufficient spectrum remains available. U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-71
Grau Ruiz MA (2019) Some lessons learnt from environmental labelling information schemes: could certification of inclusive robotics follow a similar path? [Info:eu-repo/semantics/workingPaper]. https://eprints.ucm.es/50680/
Grau Ruiz A (2020) Financing for SDGs: toward a responsible public – private tax approach. In: Partnerships for the goals. Encyclopedia of the UN sustainable development goals. Springer, Cham
Grau Ruiz MA, Aymerich Franch L, Fosch Villaronga E, Chaves Chaparro J, Ancos Franco H, Falcón Pulido Á, Adi MN, Grau Ruiz MA, Aymerich Franch L, Fosch Villaronga E, Chaves Chaparro J, Ancos Franco H, Falcón Pulido Á, Adi MN (2019) Self-coaching tools for conducting responsible research and innovation (RRI) with social robots (International Workshop at ICSR, Madrid 2019). https://eprints.ucm.es/59171/
Grau Ruiz, María Amparo y Hinojosa Torralvo, Juan José y Fosch-Villaronga, Eduard y Müller, Vincent y Mihalis, Kritikos y Juliana, Chaves Chaparro y Saskia, Maresch y Ricardo, Morte Ferrer y Saheli, Datta Burton y Nadine, Bender (2020) Tools For Inclusive Robotics: Ethics, RRI, Taxation & Social Dialogue. In Tools For Inclusive Robotics: Ethics, RRI, Taxation & Social Dialogue, 5 de marzo de 2020, European Robotics Forum – WP2 INBOTS Workshop. https://eprints.ucm.es/59990/
Hern A (2018, January 17) Bitcoin’s energy usage is huge – we can’t afford to ignore it. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/17/bitcoin-electricity-usage-huge-climate-cryptocurrency
Holland A (2007) Sustainability. In: A companion to environmental philosophy. Wiley, pp 390–401. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470751664.ch27
IFRa, Executive Summary World Robotics (2019) Industrial Robots, p. 13. Available at https://ifr.org/downloads/press2018/Executive%20Summary%20WR%202019%20Industrial%20Robots.pdf
IFRb, Executive Summary World Robotics (2019) Service Robots, pp. 11–12. Available at https://ifr.org/downloads/press2018/Executive_Summary_WR_Service_Robots_2019.pdf? Martin Joerss et al., McKinsey & Co., Parcel Delivery: The Future of Last Mile 7 (2016).
IFR (2020). Available at https://ifr.org/post/robots-on-the-front-line-of-keeping-people-safe-from-the-coronavirus
IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: synthesis report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. IPCC, p 151. https://www.ipcc.ch/
Jardim E (2017) From smart to senseless: the global impact of 10 years of smartphones. Greenpeace
Lee TB (2018, May 17). New study quantifies bitcoin’s ludicrous energy consumption. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/new-study-quantifies-bitcoins-ludicrous-energy-consumption/
Mann RF (2020) I Robot: U Tax? Considering the Tax Policy implications of automation (SSRN scholarly paper ID 3627881). Social Science Research Network. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3627881
Masanet E, Shehabi A, Lei N, Smith S, Koomey J (2020) Recalibrating global data center energy-use estimates. Science 367(6481):984–986. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba3758
Milne JE (2019) Environmental taxation in the digital world. In: Environmental fiscal challenges for cities and transport, vol XXI. Edward Elgar Publishing, UK, pp 2–17. https://ideas.repec.org/h/elg/eechap/19125_1.html
Müller VC (2020) Ethics of artificial intelligence and robotics. In Zalta EN (ed) The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (summer 2020). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/ethics-ai/
O’Brolchain F, Grau Ruiz MA et al., Inbots WP2 team (2019) D2.1 Preliminary report on Interactive Robotics´ legal, ethics & socioeconomic aspects. In: Inbots White paper on interactive robotics (H2020 public deliverable). Available via INBOTS. http://inbots.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Attachment_0-1.pdf
Osipov A (2019) Fire exoskeleton to facilitate the work of the fireman. E3S Web Conf 126:00015. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/201912600015
Owen R, Macnaghten P, Stilgoe J (2012) Responsible research and innovation: from science in society to science for society, with society. Sci Public Policy 39(6):751–760. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scs093
Owen R, Bessant JR, Heintz M (2013) Responsible innovation: managing the responsible emergence of science and innovation in society. Wiley, Chichester
Petrlik J, Adu-Kumi B, Hogarh J, Akortia E, Kuepouo G, Behnisch P, Bell L, DiGangi J (2019) Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in eggs: report for Africa. IPEN. https://ipen.org/documents/pops-eggs-report-africa
Redclift M (2005) Sustainable development (1987–2005): an oxymoron comes of age. Sustain Dev 13(4):212–227. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.281
Sachs JD, Schmidt-Traub G, Mazzucato M, Messner D, Nakicenovic N, Rockström J (2019) Six transformations to achieve the sustainable development goals. Nat Sustain 2(9):805–814. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0352-9
Sachs J, Schmidt-Traub G, Kroll C, Lafortune G, Fuller G, Woelm F (2020) The sustainable development goals and COVID-19. Sustainable development report 2020. Cambridge University Press
Shockley K (2018) Sustainable development goals and nationally determined contributions: the poor fit between agent-dependent and agent-independent policy instruments. J Glob Ethics 14(3):369–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2019.1569087
Sullins JP (2011) Introduction: open questions in Roboethics. Philos Technol 24(3):233–238
TEG, TEG (2020) Taxonomy: final report of the technical expert group on sustainable finance. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/business_economy_euro/banking_and_finance/documents/200309-sustainable-finance-teg-final-report-taxonomy_en.pdf
Thompson PB (2017) Philosophy of technology and the environment. In: The Oxford handbook of environmental ethics. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 438–448
United Nations (2015) Goal 9 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9
van der Vleuten E (2009) Large technical systems. In: Friis JKBO, Pedersen SA, Hendricks VF (eds) A companion to the philosophy of technology. Wiley-Blackwell, UK, pp 218–223
van Wynsberghe A, Donhauser J (2018) The dawning of the ethics of environmental robots. Sci Eng Ethics 24(6):1777–1800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-017-9990-3
WCED 1987 (1987) Our common future [Report of the world commission on environment and development]. United Nations General Assembly. http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm
Wilson G (2013) Minimizing global catastrophic and existential risks from emerging technologies through international law. Virginia Environ Law J 31(2):307–364. JSTOR
World Wildlife Fund (2018) Climate change could imperil half of plant and animal species in the world’s most naturally rich areas. World Wildlife Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/climate-change-could-imperil-half-of-plant-and-animal-species-in-the-world-s-most-naturally-rich-areas
Acknowledgments
This research was carried out under the INBOTS project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant agreement No 780073.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
O’Brolcháin, F., Grau Ruiz, M.A. (2021). Environmental Impact of Robotics: Ethical Concerns and Legal Alternatives. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T. (eds) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71059-4_147-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71059-4_147-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71059-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71059-4
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth & Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials Science