The crying shame of robot nannies

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel Sharkey ◽  
Amanda Sharkey
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Attachment Disorders ◽  
Development Literature

Childcare robots are being manufactured and developed with the long term aim of creating surrogate carers. While total childcare is not yet being promoted, there are indications that it is ‘on the cards’. We examine recent research and developments in childcare robots and speculate on progress over the coming years by extrapolating from other ongoing robotics work. Our main aim is to raise ethical questions about the part or full-time replacement of primary carers. The questions are about human rights, privacy, robot use of restraint, deception of children and accountability. But the most pressing ethical issues throughout the paper concern the consequences for the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children. We set these in the context of the child development literature on the pathology and causes of attachment disorders. We then consider the adequacy of current legislation and international ethical guidelines on the protection of children from the overuse of robot care.

scholarly journals Ethical Issues in Long-term Care: A Human Rights Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-97
Author(s):  
Nancy Kusmaul ◽  
Mercedes Bern-Klug ◽  
Robin Bonifas
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Term Care

scholarly journals Strange carers: Robots as attachment figures and aids to parenting

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Petters ◽  
Everett Waters ◽  
Felix D. Schönbrodt
Keyword(s):  
Practical Interest ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Secure Base ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Infancy And Childhood ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Near Future

Sharkey (2010) have examined recent research and developments in childcare robots and speculated on progress over the coming years by extrapolating from other ongoing robotics work. They raise ethical questions about the use of robots as part or full-time carers, focusing on issues of human rights, privacy, robot use of restraint, deception of children and accountability, and consequences for the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children. They consider the adequacy of current legislation and international ethical guidelines on the protection of children from the overuse of robot care. The present comment focuses on the distinction between attachment as bond formation and expectations of availability and responsiveness (security) within attachment relationships. We enumerate key components of bonding and functions of carer secure base support. Our analysis has implications for design and suggests that robots are unlikely to serve effectively as sole carers in the near or far-near future. Even with robots as part-time carers, attachment-like bonds and related learning would likely focus on human carers. Similarly, although infants and children would certainly build expectations regarding the availability and responsiveness of robot carers, the quality of human care would probably be the determining influence on later development and competence. Notwithstanding their limitations of robots as attachment figures they have considerable potential to extend parental care and enrich exploration in infancy and childhood. The Sharkey’s paper and further consideration of robots as carers for infants, children, older adults, and individuals with special needs are of theoretical and practical interest and should be pursued.

Ethical Issues Relevant to the Assessment of Suicide Risk in Nonclinical Research Settings

Crisis ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Wilson ◽  
Bruce K. Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Genetic Features ◽  
Conducting Research

Background: Our laboratory recently confronted this issue while conducting research with undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo (UW). Although our main objective was to examine cognitive and genetic features of individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), the study protocol also entailed the completion of various self-report measures to identify participants deemed at increased risk for suicide. Aims and Methods: This paper seeks to review and discuss the relevant ethical guidelines and legislation that bear upon a psychologist’s obligation to further assess and intervene when research participants reveal that they are at increased risk for suicide. Results and Conclusions: In the current paper we argue that psychologists are ethically impelled to assess and appropriately intervene in cases of suicide risk, even when such risk is revealed within a research context. We also discuss how any such obligation may potentially be modulated by the research participant’s expectations of the role of a psychologist, within such a context. Although the focus of the current paper is on the ethical obligations of psychologists, specifically those practicing within Canada, the relevance of this paper extends to all regulated health professionals conducting research in nonclinical settings.

Stability and Change in Emotional Intelligence: Exploring the Transition to Young Adulthood

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D.A. Parker ◽  
Donald H. Saklofske ◽  
Laura M. Wood ◽  
Jennifer M. Eastabrook ◽  
Robyn N. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Life Transition ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Transition From High School

Abstract. The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted growing interest from researchers working in various fields. The present study examined the long-term stability (32 months) of EI-related abilities over the course of a major life transition (the transition from high school to university). During the first week of full-time study, a large group of undergraduates completed the EQ-i:Short; 32 months later a random subset of these students (N = 238), who had started their postsecondary education within 24 months of graduating from high school, completed the measures for a second time. The study found EI scores to be relatively stable over the 32-month time period. EI scores were also found to be significantly higher at Time 2; the overall pattern of change in EI-levels was more than can be attributed to the increased age of the participants.

Problems of Distance Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rostislav Fojtík
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Educational Requirements

Abstract Distance learning and e-learning have significantly developed in recent years. It is also due to changing educational requirements, especially for adults. The article aims to show the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. Examples of the 20-year use of the distance learning form of computer science describe the difficulties associated with the implementation and implementation of this form of teaching. The results of students in the full-time and distance form of teaching in the bachelor’s study of computer science are compared. Long-term findings show that distant students have significantly lower scores in the first years of study than full-time bachelor students. In the following years of study, the differences diminish, and students’ results are comparable. The article describes the possibilities of improving the quality of distance learning.

Adult outcome after treatment of pediatric posterior fossa ependymoma: long-term follow-up of a single consecutive institutional series of 22 patients with more than 5 years of survival

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tryggve Lundar ◽  
Bernt Johan Due-Tønnessen ◽  
Radek Frič ◽  
Petter Brandal ◽  
Paulina Due-Tønnessen
Keyword(s):  
Proton Beam ◽  
Posterior Fossa ◽  
Adjuvant Treatment ◽  
Tumor Control ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Time Work ◽  
Long Term Follow Up ◽  
Long Term Survivors

OBJECTIVEEpendymoma is the third most common posterior fossa tumor in children; however, there is a lack of long-term follow-up data on outcomes after surgical treatment of posterior fossa ependymoma (PFE) in pediatric patients. Therefore, the authors sought to investigate the long-term outcomes of children treated for PFE at their institution.METHODSThe authors performed a retrospective analysis of outcome data from children who underwent treatment for PFE and survived for at least 5 years.RESULTSThe authors identified 22 children (median age at the time of surgery 3 years, range 0–18 years) who underwent primary tumor resection of PFE during the period from 1945 to 2014 and who had at least 5 years of observed survival. None of these 22 patients were lost to follow-up, and they represent the long-term survivors (38%) from a total of 58 pediatric PFE patients treated. Nine (26%) of the 34 children treated during the pre-MRI era (1945–1986) were long-term survivors, while the observed 5-year survival rate in the children treated during the MRI era (1987–2014) was 13 (54%) of 24 patients. The majority of patients (n = 16) received adjuvant radiotherapy, and 4 of these received proton-beam irradiation. Six children had either no adjuvant treatment (n = 3) or only chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment (n = 3). Fourteen patients were alive at the time of this report. According to MRI findings, all of these patients were tumor free except 1 patient (age 78 years) with a known residual tumor after 65 years of event-free survival.Repeat resections for residual or recurrent tumor were performed in 9 patients, mostly for local residual disease with progressive clinical symptoms; 4 patients underwent only 1 repeated resection, whereas 5 patients each had 3 or more resections within 15 years after their initial surgery. At further follow-up, 5 of the patients who underwent a second surgery were found to be dead from the disease with or without undergoing additional resections, which were performed from 6 to 13 years after the second procedure. The other 4 patients, however, were tumor free on the latest follow-up MRI, performed from 6 to 27 years after the last resection. Hence, repeated surgery appears to increase the chance of tumor control in some patients, along with modern (proton-beam) radiotherapy. Six of 8 patients with more than 20 years of survival are in a good clinical condition, 5 of them in full-time work and 1 in part-time work.CONCLUSIONSPediatric PFE occurs mostly in young children, and there is marked risk for local recurrence among 5-year survivors even after gross-total resection and postoperative radiotherapy. Repeated resections are therefore an important part of treatment and may lead to persistent tumor control. Even though the majority of children with PFE die from their tumor disease, some patients survive for more than 50 years with excellent functional outcome and working capacity.

Liberating Afghan Women

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Afghan Women ◽  
The Media ◽  
Policy Priority

Public opinion in the United States and elsewhere celebrated the liberation of Afghan women following the defeat of the Taliban government. The United States promised to stay in Afghanistan and foster security, economic development, and human rights for all, especially women. After years of funding various anti- Soviet Mujahidin warlords, the United States had agreed to help reconstruct the country once before in 1992, when the Soviet-backed government fell, but had lost interest when the warlords began to fight among themselves. This time, however, it was going to be different. To date, however, conditions have not improved for most Afghan women and reconstruction has barely begun. How did this happen? This article explores media presentations of Afghan women and then compares them with recent reports from human rights organizations and other eyewitness accounts. It argues that the media depictions were built on earlier conceptions of Muslim societies and allowed us to adopt a romantic view that disguised or covered up the more complex historical context of Afghan history and American involvement in it. We allowed ourselves to believe that Afghans were exotic characters who were modernizing or progressing toward a western way of life, despite the temporary setback imposed by the Taliban government. In Afghanistan, however, there was a new trope: the feminist Afghan woman activist. Images of prominent Afghan women sans burqa were much favored by the mass media and American policymakers. The result, however, was not a new focus on funding feminist political organizations or making women’s rights a foreign policy priority; rather, it was an unwillingness to fulfill obligations incurred during decades of American-funded mujahidin warfare, to face the existence of deteriorating conditions for women, resumed opium cultivation, and a resurgent Taliban, or to commit to a multilateral approach that would bring in the funds and expertise needed to sustain a long-term process of reconstruction.

Crime-Preventing Neurointerventions and the Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Medical Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Legal Regimes ◽  
Health Legislation

Anti-libidinal interventions (ALIs) are a type of crime-preventing neurointervention (CPN) already in use in many jurisdictions. This chapter examines different types of legal regimes under which ALIs might be provided to sex offenders. The types of legal regimes examined are dedicated statutes that directly provide for ALI use, consensual ALI provision under general medical law principles, mental health legislation providing for ALI use (exemplified by the mental health regime in England and Wales), and European human rights law as it pertains to ALI provision. The chapter considers what we might learn from ALIs in respect of likely or possible arrangements for the provision of other CPNs, and draws attention to some ethical issues raised by each of these types of regime, worth keeping in mind when considering arrangements for CPN provision.

Concussion, neuroethics, and sport: Policies of the past do not suffice for the future

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad Partridge ◽  
Wayne Hall
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Head Trauma ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Cognitive Impairments ◽  
Concussion Management ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Management Policies

Concussion management policies have become a major priority worldwide for sports that involve frequent collisions between participants because repeated head trauma has been associated with long-term cognitive impairments, mental health problems, and some forms of neurological degeneration. A number of concussion management policies have been developed by professional bodies and subsequently adopted by various sporting leagues. These have offered little guidance on how to navigate ethical issues in identifying and managing concussion. This chapter discusses ethical issues that arise in the diagnosis of concussion, debates about the longer-term consequences of repeated concussion injuries, and the design and implementation of policies that aim to prevent and manage concussion injuries in sporting matches.

scholarly journals Transdisciplinary AI Observatory—Retrospective Analyses and Future-Oriented Contradistinctions

Philosophies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Nadisha-Marie Aliman ◽  
Leon Kester ◽  
Roman Yampolskiy
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Safety Critical ◽  
Safety Research ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Ai Safety

In the last years, artificial intelligence (AI) safety gained international recognition in the light of heterogeneous safety-critical and ethical issues that risk overshadowing the broad beneficial impacts of AI. In this context, the implementation of AI observatory endeavors represents one key research direction. This paper motivates the need for an inherently transdisciplinary AI observatory approach integrating diverse retrospective and counterfactual views. We delineate aims and limitations while providing hands-on-advice utilizing concrete practical examples. Distinguishing between unintentionally and intentionally triggered AI risks with diverse socio-psycho-technological impacts, we exemplify a retrospective descriptive analysis followed by a retrospective counterfactual risk analysis. Building on these AI observatory tools, we present near-term transdisciplinary guidelines for AI safety. As further contribution, we discuss differentiated and tailored long-term directions through the lens of two disparate modern AI safety paradigms. For simplicity, we refer to these two different paradigms with the terms artificial stupidity (AS) and eternal creativity (EC) respectively. While both AS and EC acknowledge the need for a hybrid cognitive-affective approach to AI safety and overlap with regard to many short-term considerations, they differ fundamentally in the nature of multiple envisaged long-term solution patterns. By compiling relevant underlying contradistinctions, we aim to provide future-oriented incentives for constructive dialectics in practical and theoretical AI safety research.

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