Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social Ecologies
In this article we tackle the core question of machine emotion research – “Can machines have emotions?” – in the context of “social robots”, a new class of machines designed to function as “social partners” for humans. Our aim, however, is not to provide an answer to the question “Can robots have em...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Associazione Culturale Humana.Mente
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/article/view/321 |
| _version_ | 1818211958631956480 |
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| author | Luisa Damiano Paul Gerard Dumouchel |
| author_facet | Luisa Damiano Paul Gerard Dumouchel |
| author_sort | Luisa Damiano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article we tackle the core question of machine emotion research – “Can machines have emotions?” – in the context of “social robots”, a new class of machines designed to function as “social partners” for humans. Our aim, however, is not to provide an answer to the question “Can robots have emotions?” Rather we argue that the “robotics of emotion” moves us to reformulate it into a different one – “Can robots affectively coordinate with humans?” Developing a series of arguments relevant to theory of emotion, philosophy of AI, and the epistemology of synthetic models, we argue that the answer to this different question is positive, and that it lays grounds for an innovative ethical approach to emotional robots. This ethical project, which we introduced elsewhere as “synthetic ethics”, rejects the diffused ethical condemnation of emotional robots as “cheating” technology. Synthetic ethics focuses not on an ideological refusal, but on the concrete sustainability of the emerging mixed human-robot social ecologies. On this basis, in contrast to a purely negative ethical approach to social robotics it promotes an analytical case by case ethical inquiry into the type of human flourishing that can result from human-robot affective coordination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:40:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4ce776dcb02846ec83a59c0952090c74 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1972-1293 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:40:46Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Associazione Culturale Humana.Mente |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-4ce776dcb02846ec83a59c0952090c742022-12-22T00:35:56ZengAssociazione Culturale Humana.MenteHumana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies1972-12932020-07-011337Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social EcologiesLuisa Damiano0Paul Gerard Dumouchel1RG-ESA (Research Group on the Epistemology of the Sciences of the Artificial), Deaprtment of Ancient and Modern Civilizations, University of MessinaGraduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences, Ritumeikan University, KyotoIn this article we tackle the core question of machine emotion research – “Can machines have emotions?” – in the context of “social robots”, a new class of machines designed to function as “social partners” for humans. Our aim, however, is not to provide an answer to the question “Can robots have emotions?” Rather we argue that the “robotics of emotion” moves us to reformulate it into a different one – “Can robots affectively coordinate with humans?” Developing a series of arguments relevant to theory of emotion, philosophy of AI, and the epistemology of synthetic models, we argue that the answer to this different question is positive, and that it lays grounds for an innovative ethical approach to emotional robots. This ethical project, which we introduced elsewhere as “synthetic ethics”, rejects the diffused ethical condemnation of emotional robots as “cheating” technology. Synthetic ethics focuses not on an ideological refusal, but on the concrete sustainability of the emerging mixed human-robot social ecologies. On this basis, in contrast to a purely negative ethical approach to social robotics it promotes an analytical case by case ethical inquiry into the type of human flourishing that can result from human-robot affective coordination.https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/article/view/321Affective Coordination(Machine) EmotionPhilosophy of AISocial RoboticsSynthetic MethodEpistemology of the Sciences of the Artificial |
| spellingShingle | Luisa Damiano Paul Gerard Dumouchel Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social Ecologies Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies Affective Coordination (Machine) Emotion Philosophy of AI Social Robotics Synthetic Method Epistemology of the Sciences of the Artificial |
| title | Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social Ecologies |
| title_full | Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social Ecologies |
| title_fullStr | Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social Ecologies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social Ecologies |
| title_short | Emotions in Relation. Epistemological and Ethical Scaffolding for Mixed Human-Robot Social Ecologies |
| title_sort | emotions in relation epistemological and ethical scaffolding for mixed human robot social ecologies |
| topic | Affective Coordination (Machine) Emotion Philosophy of AI Social Robotics Synthetic Method Epistemology of the Sciences of the Artificial |
| url | https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/article/view/321 |
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