Robots, institutional roles and joint action: some key ethical issues
This academic paper examines the possibility of human-robot joint action and the occupancy of institutional roles by robots using social ontology frameworks. The author argues that because robots are not moral or rational agents, they cannot perform morally significant joint actions or genuinely occupy institutional roles involving moral duties. Consequently, robots remain technological instruments under human control, and the search for physical properties that reliably correlate with moral properties faces significant obstacles.
Summary and content fields are drawn from the document text and are pending editorial review.
Who issued it
Who it governs
Researchers and scholars in philosophy, robotics, and AI ethics should read this to understand the conceptual and ethical limits of granting moral or institutional status to robots.
What the document contains
The document addresses the philosophical and ethical dimensions of human-robot interaction, analyzing concepts of joint action, social ontology, institutional roles, and moral agency. It evaluates whether current robots can participate in joint actions or occupy institutional roles, concluding with a deflationary analysis of robot capabilities in moral contexts.
The text does not provide specific technical guidelines for software development, legislative text, or actionable regulatory frameworks for governing AI deployment.
- Robots are capable of performing basic joint doings and simple organizational tasks, but they cannot engage in genuine human-like joint actions.
- Because robots lack consciousness, intentions, and the capacity to recognize moral properties, they are not moral or rational agents.
- Robots cannot properly occupy institutional roles because such roles typically entail moral rights, duties, and accountability to institutional authority.
- The program to find physical properties in the environment that reliably correlate with complex moral properties faces insurmountable obstacles.
- Robots must remain technological instruments under the direct control of human agents who bear full moral and institutional responsibility.
· Introduction · Joint actions and social institutions · Robots, joint action and institutional roles · Robots and moral properties · Conclusion
How it scores
Each score is backed by a quote verified against the document text. Editorial review has not yet confirmed them.
Fairness
0/5Non-discrimination and equitable treatment
Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-24
Human Dignity
0/5Respect for the inherent worth of persons
Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-24
Human Oversight
3/5Humans remain in control of consequential decisions
Robots are, or ought to be, technological instruments under the control of human agents in the service of the collective goods definitive of the institutions in question
Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-24
Privacy
0/5Protection of personal data and private life
Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-24
Transparency
0/5Openness about how AI systems work and are used
Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-24
Enforcement
0/5Consequences and compliance mechanisms with real force
Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-24
Impact Assessment
0/5Required assessment of an AI system's risks/impacts before or during use
Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-24