Rawls or the RobotsRawls or the Robots

When is cognitive enhancement a When is cognitive enhancement a third route to a just society?third route to a just society?

Heather Bradshaw

IEET and University of Bristol

© Heather Bradshaw 2008

Caring for dependents creates injustice.

Caring done by robots

Caring done by humans

Not done at allNew theory to extend justice to carers and cared for.

Great injustice, suffering and even death to dependents.

Not done because no-one is dependent.

Cognitive improvement technologies are used for therapy, and for enhancement where complexity is growing faster than human cognitive powers.

Where are we going?

* Rawlsian justice achievable.

Rawlsian justice achievable

Non-Rawlsian justice?

Robots for human interactionRobots for human interaction

CaringCaring CompanionshipCompanionship Creaturely comfortersCreaturely comforters MonitoringMonitoring

1. Look, feel and react enough like humans or animals to

trigger human emotions and attachment.

2. BUT can never be bored, insulted, degraded or abused

because they are not persons, or sentient.

Bristol Robotics LaboratoryBristol Robotics LaboratoryBio-engineering and intelligent autonomous systemsBio-engineering and intelligent autonomous systems

CHRIS project http://164.11.131.110/gallery.html

Empathy in Empathy in humanoidshumanoids ICub II T,Genoa, ItalyBERT 1 BRL, UK

CHRIS FP7 funded CHRIS FP7 funded

Cooperative Human Robot Interaction Systems.Cooperative Human Robot Interaction Systems.

Robot gesturing Robot gesturing Bristol Robotics Laboratory: bio-engineering and Bristol Robotics Laboratory: bio-engineering and

intelligent autonomous systemsintelligent autonomous systems

The basic BERT torso

was designed and built by

Elumotion Ltd in Partnership

with BRL.

PhD ResearcherPaul Bremner

Supervisory TeamProf. C. MelhuishDr. Tony PipeDr. M. FraserDr S. Subramanian

ANDy Anthropomorphic Human Dynamics

Adam Spiers – mathematical modelling of human motion in order to program human-like movement in robots.

http://http://robotic.media.mit.edu/robotic.media.mit.edu/

projects/robots/leonardo/projects/robots/leonardo/em/em.htmlem/em.htmlStan Winston

StudiosStan Winston

Artistic LeadLindsay MacGowan

Technical LeadRichard Landon

The TeamJon Dawe Trevor Hensley Matt Heimlich Al Sousa Kathy Macgowan Michael Ornealez Amy Whetsel Joe Reader Grady Holder Rob Ramsdell John Cherevka Rodrick Khachatoorian Kurt Herbel Rich Haugen Keith Marbory Annabelle Troukins

Personal Robots GroupProfessor Cynthia Breazeal

Graduate StudentsMatt Berlin Andrew "Zoz" Brooks Jesse Gray Guy Hoffman Jeff Lieberman Andrea Lockerd Thomaz Dan Stiehl

AlumniMatt Hancher Hans LeeLeonardo is funded in part by the Things That Think (TTT) and Digital Life (DL) consortia, a DARPA MARS grant, and a ONR YIP grant.

Contributing Sponsors Stan Winston Studio (DL), NevenVision Inc. (TTT), Toyota (TTT)

External Collaborators NASA JSC, Navy Research Lab.

Animator Fardad Faridi

The The Heart Heart Robot Puppet ProjectRobot Puppet Project

5 small interacting motors to make 5 small interacting motors to make a ‘nervous system’a ‘nervous system’

Pneumatic movement -‘breathing’ Pneumatic movement -‘breathing’

Polymorph, silicone (beating heart), Polymorph, silicone (beating heart), kite line and bungee cords for kite line and bungee cords for musclesmuscles

Eyes, ‘balance’ and hearingEyes, ‘balance’ and hearing

Eyelids, hands and heart move via Eyelids, hands and heart move via servos in reaction to touch or servos in reaction to touch or movementmovement

© The Heart Project

www.heartrobot.org.uk

Robots with emotionRobots with emotion

Actoids Actoids http://www.ed.ams.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/research/0007/http://www.ed.ams.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/research/0007/

CHRIS project http://164.11.131.110/gallery.htmlCHRIS project http://164.11.131.110/gallery.html

Leonardo at play Leonardo at play http://robotic.media.mit.edu/projects/robots/leonardo/teahttp://robotic.media.mit.edu/projects/robots/leonardo/teamwork/teamwork.htmlmwork/teamwork.html

Heart robot and links http://www.heartrobot.org.uk/Heart robot and links http://www.heartrobot.org.uk/ Heart robot and Heart robot and

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7532162.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7532162.stm

Robots with attitudeRobots with attitude http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?

section=roboticssection=robotics http://cs.stanford.edu/group/roadrunner/http://cs.stanford.edu/group/roadrunner/

• Ecobot II Bristol

Ioannis Ieropoulos

Sludge-fed robot chases lights.

http://www.brl.uwe.ac.uk/projects/ecobot/ecobot%20II/index.html

RAWLS – Justice as FairnessRAWLS – Justice as Fairness

1)1) People in the Original Position, behind People in the Original Position, behind the Veil of Ignorance choose social the Veil of Ignorance choose social principles to underlie the society they will principles to underlie the society they will live in.live in.

2)2) Two principles emerge from this Two principles emerge from this imaginary social contract procedure.imaginary social contract procedure.

Veil of IgnoranceVeil of Ignorance

People do not know the social position they will People do not know the social position they will hold in the future society but they DO know they hold in the future society but they DO know they are ‘fully cooperating members of society over a are ‘fully cooperating members of society over a complete lifetime’ - that is, they are not disabled complete lifetime’ - that is, they are not disabled or dependent in any way, except by temporary or dependent in any way, except by temporary minor illness.minor illness.

So Rawls’ theory ‘So Rawls’ theory ‘postponespostpones’ justice for ’ justice for dependent people until after the basic principles dependent people until after the basic principles have been chosen. He includes it then as have been chosen. He includes it then as something for the legislature to manage.something for the legislature to manage.

Rawls’ Two PrinciplesRawls’ Two Principles1)1) Each person has the same indefeasible claim Each person has the same indefeasible claim

to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties, which scheme is compatible with the liberties, which scheme is compatible with the same scheme of liberties for all; andsame scheme of liberties for all; and

2)2) Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: (a) they are to be attached to two conditions: (a) they are to be attached to offices and positions open to all under offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; and (b) conditions of fair equality of opportunity; and (b) they are to be to the greatest benefit of the they are to be to the greatest benefit of the least advantages members of society. least advantages members of society.

Rawls, J. (2001) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement (Cambridge, MA. London, UK: Belknap Press). P42.

Rawls’s exclusion of the dependentRawls’s exclusion of the dependent Stein – Two Moral PowersStein – Two Moral Powers: sense of justice, conception of the good. (Rawls, J. : sense of justice, conception of the good. (Rawls, J.

(2001) (2001) Justice As Fairness: a RestatementJustice As Fairness: a Restatement (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press) (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press) p18,19.)p18,19.)

Nussbaum – OPNussbaum – OP, know they are “fully cooperating over a normal life”, know they are “fully cooperating over a normal life”

“So let’s add that all citizens are fully cooperating members of society over the course of a complete life. This means that everyone has sufficient intellectual powers to play a normal part in society, and no one suffers from unusual needs that are especially difficult to fulfil, for example, unusual and costly medical requirements.” Rawls, J. (1980) Kantian constructivism in moral theory Dewey Lectures Journal of Philosophy 77 pp515-571.

“Since we begin from the idea of society as a fair system of cooperation, we assume that persons as citizens have all the capacities that enable them to be cooperating members of society. This is done to achieve a clear and uncluttered view of what, for us, is the fundamental question of political justice: namely, what is the most appropriate conception of justice for specifying the terms of social cooperation between citizens regarded as free and equal, and as normal and fully cooperating members of society over a complete life?”

(Rawls, J. (1966) (Rawls, J. (1966) Political LiberalismPolitical Liberalism (New York: Columbia University Press) (New York: Columbia University Press)

““But the postponement is not innocent, clearly. But the postponement is not innocent, clearly. The parties are being asked to imagine The parties are being asked to imagine themselves as if they represent citizens who themselves as if they represent citizens who really are “fully cooperating…over a complete really are “fully cooperating…over a complete life” and thus as if citizens have no needs for life” and thus as if citizens have no needs for care in times of extreme dependency. This care in times of extreme dependency. This fiction obliterates much that characterizes fiction obliterates much that characterizes human life, and obliterates, as well, the human life, and obliterates, as well, the continuity between the so-called normal and continuity between the so-called normal and people with lifelong impairments.” P127people with lifelong impairments.” P127

Nussbaum 1: Nussbaum 1: postponementpostponement of disability in of disability in RawlsRawls

Nussbaum, M. (2006) Frontiers of Justice (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press) p127.

““More generally, care for children, elderly More generally, care for children, elderly people, and people with mental and physical people, and people with mental and physical disabilities is a major part of the work that disabilities is a major part of the work that needs to be done in any society, and in most needs to be done in any society, and in most societies it is a source of great injustice. Any societies it is a source of great injustice. Any theory of justice needs to think about the theory of justice needs to think about the problem from the beginning, in the design of problem from the beginning, in the design of the basic institutional structure, and the basic institutional structure, and particularly in its theory of the primary goods.”particularly in its theory of the primary goods.”

Nussbaum 2: dependency and injusticeNussbaum 2: dependency and injustice

Nussbaum, M. (2006) Frontiers of Justice ( Cambridge MA:Harvard University Press) p127.

Caring for dependants creates injustice.

Caring done by robots

Caring done by humans

Not done at allNew theory to extend justice to carers and cared for.

Great injustice, suffering and even death to dependents.

Not done because no-one is dependent.

Cognitive improvement technologies are used for therapy, and for enhancement where complexity is growing faster than human cognitive powers.

… any society?

* Rawlsian justice achievable.

Rawlsian justice achievable

Non-Rawlsian justice?

Two Caveats and one ArgumentTwo Caveats and one Argument

Ghettoisation – use of Ghettoisation – use of robots might be like robots might be like institutionalising institutionalising again. Creating a new again. Creating a new prison.prison.

Selection would also Selection would also eliminate many but eliminate many but not all dependants not all dependants (accidents will (accidents will happen).happen).

Argument FOR:Argument FOR:

P1: It is a good to be treated justly.

P2: You can only be treated justly if we change your abilities to resemble ours.

P3: The good of being treated justly justifies (outweighs your preference not to change) changing you.

C1 .: It is justified to change you.

ObjectionsObjections

1)1) Some people may not want to have their Some people may not want to have their cognitive ability changed.cognitive ability changed. Coercion?Coercion?

1)1) They may feel that justice is about treating them They may feel that justice is about treating them justly however they are.justly however they are. Acceptable?Acceptable?

Scenario 1: majority enhancementScenario 1: majority enhancement

Complexity increases so that 90% of us Complexity increases so that 90% of us require enhancement to keep up.require enhancement to keep up.

OROR

Cognitive enhancement of the majority Cognitive enhancement of the majority enables society to increase complexity?enables society to increase complexity?

Scenario 2: Total dependency Scenario 2: Total dependency reductionreduction

Eliminating Eliminating dependency would dependency would mean not just mean not just increasing increasing healthspanhealthspan, and , and modifying the modifying the cognitively cognitively challengedchallenged, but also , but also potentially reducing potentially reducing dependency in dependency in childhoodchildhood..

A minimally dependent community?A minimally dependent community?

Negligible loss of independence with aging.Negligible loss of independence with aging. Excellent healthcare and technological support for Excellent healthcare and technological support for

accident victims.accident victims. Highly selective reproduction and disease prevention.Highly selective reproduction and disease prevention. Genetic development for shortened dependency in Genetic development for shortened dependency in

childhood.childhood. Technological childrearing to minimize dependency on Technological childrearing to minimize dependency on

adults.adults.

A group of adults in their prime, unconnected by relationships of care,

confident of freedom to choose their own life plans.