NDLI: Ethical, legal and social concerns relating to exoskeletons

Content Provider	ACM Digital Library
Author	Greenbaum, Dov
Abstract	Exoskeletons, i.e., wearable robotics, are designed and built to amplify human strength and agility. In many cases, their purpose is to replace diminished or lost limb functionality, helping people regain some ambulatory freedom. As such, exoskeletons are particularly suited to help those with restricted mobility due to paralysis or weakened limbs. For all their promise, exoskeletons and other wearable robotics raise a number of ethical and social concerns that will need to be confronted by ethicists, the industry, and society as a whole. General social concerns relate to the personal and psychological impact on disabled individuals and their families. And as a society, we may need to reconsider ableness, in light of these and other technological opportunities for overcoming our limitations. But that's only for those who can afford these machines: with exoskeletons costing as much as a luxury car, there are social justice concerns relating to access to this cost-prohibitive technology, as well as the eventual dependencies on such an expensive device. Ought insurers be required to purchase these for paralyzed individuals to significantly improve their quality of life; or are there competing interests and ideals that might support an insurer's refusal to invest in this technology? Some exoskeleton manufacturers, in conjunction with defense contractors, are reportedly pursuing military grade as well as industrial grade exoskeleton solutions. These solution enable soldiers and workers to perform longer and harder. In upgrading humans into quasi-machines, however, we run the risk of treating them more like machines than humans. In the workplace this may result in the overworking of an employee, in the military this could further dehumanize warfare and its very human actors. The prospect of augmenting otherwise healthy individuals (as distinct from treatment focused on achieving, sustaining or restoring health) raises further ethical concerns relating to human enhancement, an area fraught with slippery slopes. These issues are not only limited to our regular daily interactions, but also arise in sports, as the disabled (and now disgraced) Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, has shown us. There are no simple solutions for any of these issues, although many solutions may arise organically; for example, costs and access issues may be lessened as the technology becomes more widespread and cheaper. Other issues can be dealt with through well thought out regulatory solutions. But, for society at large, exoskeletons and other future human enhancements technologies raise much more longstanding and complex questions that will force us to redefine how we perceive humanity and self.
Starting Page	234
Ending Page	239
Page Count	6
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00952737
DOI	10.1145/2874239.2874272
Journal	ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society (CSOC)
Volume Number	45
Issue Number	3
Language	English
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Publisher Date	2013-05-01
Publisher Place	New York
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Ethics Disability sports Law Social issues Exoskeletons Autonomous Robotics
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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