Slashdot Mirror
Should a Service Robot Bring an Alcoholic a Drink?
An anonymous reader writes: We've come to a point where care robots are being used to assist people with illnesses and mobility problems. They can bring medicine, a glass of water, food, and other items that a person may have trouble getting to on their own. But what limits should we set on these robots? Should they be able to deliver alcoholic beverages? If so, should they refuse to serve them to certain people, like children or alcoholics? The issue is complicated further because these robots may have been purchased by the patient, by the doctor or hospital (which sent it home with the patient to monitor their health), or by a concerned family member who wants to monitor their relative. The latest poll research by the Open Roboethics Initiative looked at people's attitudes about whether a care robot should prioritize its owner's wishes over those of the patient.
The robot shouldn't be tasked with this judgment any more that the latch on a fridge door should be asked to keep you an your diet.
Yes, slippery slope indeed. If we humans have a hard time discerning if a person is technically "obese" (as rated by the ever-popular BMI scale), how exactly is the robot supposed to tell the difference and not serve the fat human too much food? What happens when the diabetic is served too much sugar? Who's liable? Far too much sue-the-manufacturer bullshit going on to eliminate that risk altogether. We have a long way to go with liability reform before this ever comes to light, which is sad. Yet again technology stifled by greed and politics.
They do in Tokyo; I saw a vending machine there dispensing bottles of single malt whisky. The interesting comparison with my own country isn't that they have these and we don't, but that over here such a machine would not make it past the first Friday night before being trashed and robbed.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...