Robots - how do we make sure everyone benefits?

While many people will benefit from robotic technologies, the risk to social cohesion if those benefits are not evenly shared justifies an urgent focus of social policymakers.

Robotics role in delivering a fair society is tackled in this excerpt from the Robotics Australia Group submission to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources's Discussion Paper on the National Robotics Strategy.

Trust, Inclusion and Responsible Development and Use

While many people will benefit from robotic technologies, the risk to social cohesion if those benefits are not evenly shared justifies an urgent focus of social policymakers. Read on to see some excerpts of the considerations we believe are important in the design and use of robotics as part of the Robotics Australia Group submission to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources's Discussion Paper on the National Robotics Strategy.

As robots increasingly interact with people in their daily lives, consideration must be given to how humans design, construct, use and treat robots, and other AI. To ensure ongoing social cohesion in the face of technological disruption, it is important that no Australian is left behind. We hear from the robotics ecosystem that navigating standards and regulations and determining what constitutes responsible development and use are barriers to the development of a robotics industry in Australia. The National Robotics Strategy can play an important role supporting homegrown robotics and automation companies, to ensure that their technologies are worthy of trust and expedite the pathway to market.

Responsible Development and Use

A movement towards ethical design of technology has seen researchers and companies deploying frameworks for new technologies. Robotics can leverage Australia’s AI ethics framework and also the principles of responsible AI being discussed as part of the National AI Centre to develop our own set of roboethics and design principles to protect people from robots and vice versa, taking care to:?

• Protect humans from harm
• Respect the refusal of care given by a robot.
• Protect humanity against privacy breaches committed by a robot and against the risk of manipulation by robots.
• Manage personal data processed by robots.
• Avoid the dissolution of social ties.
• Equal access to progress in robotics.
• Restrict human access to enhancement technologies.
• Protect robots from systematic abuse.

Like the EU, Australia could mandate that robot design incorporate the following considerations across all robot types: safety, security, traceability, identifiability and privacy.?

The role of designers, policymakers and society should be to decide whether a system should be built at all, before being unleashed on important public infrastructure such as hospitals or courtrooms. Factors that contribute to intuitive use of products need to be determined for robotics. Social uptake of robotics and automation will be strongly dependent on how people experience the use of the technology. The development of intuitive user interfaces can make these technologies accessible to more people, allowing them to have a greater positive impact on the world. Developers of new robotic technologies should apply the principles of value sensitive design, which typically relies on focus groups or other techniques, to establish stakeholder views on a range of issues such as data privacy and cultural sensitivities that can then be incorporated into technology design.

Safety, Standards and Regulations

Robots should be safer than humans at achieving the same tasks, because they are engineered systems not burdened by human fallibility (except in their conception).

Traditionally, robots have operated in interlocked cells, isolated from people to ensure human safety. However, modern robotic systems allow more collaborative applications and many robots must operate in public spaces, such as the Little Ripper lifesaver drones or retail robots. For this reason, ensuring that robots can operate safely in public, unconstrained environments is becoming critically important.

There are a number of well-developed ISO and IEC standards for safety related control systems for machines and machine specific standards including robots, AGVs and other vehicles. For the industrial robot sector (ISO 10218 series) international standards have already been adopted as Australian Standards under the primary machine safety standard series AS4024. The safety control system standards base the control system design on risk variables and lead to architecture changes in the control system as the risk increases. At the higher levels of risk this requires redundant controls with fault detection. This approach for machine safety control systems has been in place for around 30 years. International standards are also in place for service and personal care robots. Similar standards are in place and evolving for autonomous and self-driving vehicles. Current safety standards in certain industries are evolving but need investment to extend their application to new environments, use across industries, and for more than one purpose.

Technology is regulated differently depending on the sector. The challenge for the Australian robotics industry is to identify, adopt and promote trust and safety frameworks that align to a manageable assurance framework, are accepted by Australian society, and are pragmatic for robotics industries to incorporate and abide by. Frameworks to systematically and efficiently accredit robotics and AI technology do not exist, while current standards and assurance mechanisms are not fit-for-purpose as they generally require either human operators to be in constant control, or for robots to be kept physically separated from human operators (e.g. industrial robots). Approval for new robotics technology requires in-depth regulatory engagement, meaning it can take much longer than usual for a manufacturer or operator to get approvals from the relevant authorities. As existing laws and regulations rely on a human operator being responsible, this means most robotic platforms must seek exemptions to operate, which are difficult to get without investing significant time into the regulatory engagement process. We recommend moving to a more modern risk based, responsive, and anticipatory regulatory approach, proactively taking opportunities to support positive innovation.

Interoperability?

Interoperability is a challenge facing the adoption of automation and robotics, and is a mixture of technological, commercial and regulatory challenges. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Robotics and Automation Society Standing Committee on Standards Activities is experimenting with standards that allow robots to interact and communicate with other robots, but these standards are not enforceable, a matter that should be urgently addressed.

A Fair Society

Consultations during the development of this submission and its recommendations repeatedly reinforced the need to be mindful of the disruptive potential of robotics technologies and the community’s perception of robotics. As Australia enters the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), lessons need to be learnt from the past. After the first industrial revolution, economic conditions for the working people fell for several decades until economic and social measures were put in place to create a fairer system. Those measures and the fairness they support are an important part of the Australian labour market which has continued to reform with the times. Over the last 40 years, there has been a rise in part-time and casual work, and some workforce restructuring has been due to technology and a greater take-up of automation and robots. Despite this, the measure of income equality used by the OECD and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Gini CoEfficient, has remained largely stable this century.

Future advancements in the application of robotics and automation will continue to give rise to further concern about inequality. While many people will benefit from robotic technologies, the risk to social cohesion if those benefits are not evenly shared justifies an urgent focus of social policymakers. Good policy planning is required to protect individuals from bearing the brunt of change which will deliver broader societal benefits.

PRIORITY

Ensure ethical robotics solutions meet public expectations, improve Australia’s well-being and are consistent with our democratic values.

Actions

• Leverage work around responsible AI to develop suitable ethical, legislative, and regulatory frameworks for the production and adoption of robotics technologies.
• Develop appropriate national operating, interoperability, risk management and safety standards for robots, aligned to international standards.
• Create a government body to expedite the approval of new technology applications for commercial use. The body would collaborate with other government agencies, industry and unions to expedite the path to commercialisation for Australian developed technologies.
• Improve community awareness on the opportunities and limitations of robotics technologies, including job creation, improved service delivery in remote areas, efficiency and productivity gains, and safety.

PRIORITY

Develop and adopt governance systems to ensure Robotics and AI solutions improve Australia’s wellbeing and protect democratic values.

Actions

• Work across government to ensure that regulatory measures and frameworks are fit for purpose to maximise opportunities for robotics and AI and manage risks while protecting Australia’s national interests.
• Develop and/or adopt appropriate standards to ensure the safe deployment of robotic technologies which meet appropriate ethical, legal and regulatory frameworks.?
• Develop policies that preserve social cohesion by protecting individuals from bearing the brunt of disruptive change and ensuring societal benefits.
• Fund interdisciplinary research to address social and cultural issues and concerns relating to the development of robotics to establish a social licence for robotics.
• Fund an awareness campaign across industry, government and the wider community on the benefits of adopting robotics and robotic-related technologies (such as improved service delivery in remote areas, productivity gains, safety, job creation and supply chain security).?
• Explore options to strengthen collaboration and opportunity for industry with our established partners through existing arrangements and potential partnership arrangements, including AUKUS, the Quad, and other regional and special bilateral agreements.
• Identify and consider opportunities to grow Australia’s regional leadership through collaborative programs of research, science diplomacy and provisioning access to infrastructure.

Each day we will post another segment from the Submission to the National Robotics Strategy made by Robotics Australia Group after extensive consultation with Australia's robotics ecosystem.

About Robotics Australia Group

Robotics Australia Group is Australia’s peak body for the Australian robotics (and robotics-related) technology sector with a network of more than 5,000 and an international alliance with similar organisations in other countries. Our goal is to build a sustainable robotics industry by supporting the entire robotics ecosystem, from the companies building robots to those researching and developing new robotic technologies, robotics educators and enthusiasts, and the companies looking to adopt robots and robotics-related technologies. Our members and partners include large and small companies that create or adopt robotics technologies.

We have a lot of momentum to build on and we look forward to continuing to work with you. If you would like to support the work that we are doing?please consider joining as a Friend, Member or Sponsor.