Discuss some of the ethical and legal implications of the use of robots in caregiving to the elderly

1. Elderly Care Robots
Ethical and Legal Dimensions

2. International Association of Law and
Mental Health Conference
Prague, 9-14 July 2017

3. Soraj Hongladarom
Center for Ethics of Science and Technology
Chulalongkorn University
hsoraj@chula.ac.th

4. Outline
 Use of robots in elderly care
 Ethical considerations
 Legal implications
 Proposals – design of robots and legal environments

5. Current Situation
 Many countries are fast becoming “aging society”
 Need for more manpower to care for the elderly
 Thus needs for technological help

6. Technical Solution - Robots
 Technical device designed to assist the elderly as well as
their caregivers

11. Ethical Dimensions
 Human Touch/Robot Touch
 Privacy
 Increased isolation?
 Inequality
 Who is going to pay the robots?

12. Legal Dimensions
 The rights of the elderly
 Can robots assist caregivers who look after the elderly with
mental health problems? In what way?

13. Mental Health Issues
 Dementia
 Loneliness
 Depression
 Isolation
 How can robots help?

14. Proposal
 Robot design should take these human aspects into
consideration.
 But should robots be more and more like humans? Or should they
retain their identity as a robot?
 The needed legal environment should be anticipated, in light of
the ethical dimensions discussed.
 Equitable technology transfer scheme.
 Thank you!
 hsoraj@chula.ac.th