Living robots, which combine artificial components with natural cells and tissues, are rapidly becoming a reality. This technological evolution requires specific rules and an open public debate. The appeal comes from a group of international researchers, who have published their concerns and recommendations in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, PNAS.
The Need for RegulationLiving Robots: Ethical Implications of Bio-Hybrid Robotics
The need for regulation
Donato Romano, a researcher at the Biorobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, says: “Regulation is essential for a new and expanding research field such as bio-hybrid robotics, which straddles biology and the artificial world.” Research in this field has recently attracted growing international interest, but is still little known to the general public and the media.
Living Robots: Ethical Implications of Bio-Hybrid Robotics
The paper’s authors, Rafael Mestre of the University of Southampton and Aníbal Astobiza of the University of the Basque Country, identified three key areas where bio-robots pose unique ethical questions:
Interactivity: How these robots interact with humans and the environment. Integrability: Their possible use for bio-robotic organs or limbs. Morality: The ethical and moral impacts of their use.
A concrete example of the ethical implications concerns the use of “cyborg” insects with implanted electrodes. Romano emphasizes that their research focuses on non-invasive animal-robot interactive systems to preserve biodiversity and monitor the environment.
“Technology must support man and the environment, not the other way around,” says Romano.
Bio-hybrid robotics could revolutionize various sectors, from ocean cleaning to medicine, but it is essential to address ethical challenges to ensure sustainable development that respects human values.
The rapid evolution of bio-hybrid robotics raises important questions about how to integrate these new developments into our society. Public debate and appropriate regulation are essential to manage the emerging ethical challenges.
What do you think about bio-hybrid robotics? What are, in your opinion, the main ethical challenges to face?
