Trust and care robots: philosophical considerations, ethical challenges, and viable options

Abstract This article presents a new moral idea of trust, which seems appropriate when dealing with care robots. When we trust our counterpart, an ambivalent relationship emerges. This is often assumed, at least in the professional debate, because the person who places this trust enters a relationship of dependence and thereby also takes a risk. At the same time, due to the given trust, there is a good reason that the respective addressee will do everything not to compromise this assumed security, sincerity, and trustworthiness. This article first examines the concept of trust and derives a moral approach for application in the context of care robots. These machines are increasingly finding their way into the care sector and can support people receiving care, mobilize them, or monitor health conditions. Nevertheless, it seems more than doubtful whether AI-based robots can be trusted at all. For this reason, in a second step, numerous studies and works are examined which not only present the integration and interaction with care robots in real settings, but also allow a better understanding of the connection to the presented moral idea of trust. This is followed by an ethical discussion of the opportunities and risks of care robots, which should help to illustrate the problems of a trusting relationship with them. An ethically justifiable approach to these robot companions and trust as an important component in the sense of the idea presented seem reasonable.