An international team of researchers from the University of Southampton, along with institutions in the US and Spain, is advocating for regulations to guide the responsible and ethical development of bio-hybrid robotics—a cutting-edge field that combines synthetic components with live tissue and cells. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Though it may seem like science fiction, the field of synthetic robotics integrating live materials and organisms is advancing rapidly. Living muscles enable bio-hybrid robots to grasp, pump, crawl, swim, and sense their environment. Chemical sensing has been improved with sensors derived from insect antennae and sensory cells, and even robots' movements have been controlled by living neurons.
The challenges in overseeing bio-hybrid robotics are not dissimilar to those encountered in the regulation of biomedical devices, stem cells, and other disruptive technologies. But unlike purely mechanical or digital technologies, bio-hybrid robots blend biological and synthetic components in unprecedented ways. This presents unique possible benefits but also potential dangers.
Dr. Rafael Mestre, Study Co-Lead Author, University of Southampton
Over the past decade, the number of research articles on bio-hybrid robotics has steadily increased. Despite this growth, only five of the more than 1,500 publications have thoroughly addressed the ethical considerations of this field.
The researchers identified three key ethical domains in bio-hybrid robotics:
- Interactivity: This concerns how bio-robots interact with people and their environment.
- Integrability: This examines whether and how humans might integrate bio-robots, such as bio-robotic organs or limbs.
- Moral Status: This pertains to the ethical standing of bio-hybrid entities.
Through a series of thought experiments, the authors illustrated potential ethical issues: how a bio-robot designed to clean oceans could disrupt the food chain, how a bio-hybrid robotic arm might exacerbate inequality, and how increasingly complex bio-hybrid assistants could raise concerns about morality and sentience.
Bio-hybrid robots create unique ethical dilemmas. The living tissue used in their fabrication, potential for sentience, distinct environmental impact, unusual moral status, and capacity for biological evolution or adaptation create unique ethical dilemmas that extend beyond those of wholly artificial or biological technologies.
Aníbal M. Astobiza, Study Co-Lead Author and Ethicist, University of the Basque
This is the first publication from the Biohybrid Futures project, a joint effort between the Rebooting Democracy initiative and Dr. Rafael Mestre. Biohybrid Futures aims to create a framework for the ethical study, use, and management of bio-hybrid robotics.
The study makes several recommendations for such a framework, including raising public knowledge and comprehension, taking societal ramifications into account, and conducting risk assessments.
If debates around embryonic stem cells, human cloning, or artificial intelligence have taught us something, it is that humans rarely agree on the correct resolution of the moral dilemmas of emergent technologies. Compared to related technologies such as embryonic stem cells or artificial intelligence, bio-hybrid robotics has developed relatively unattended by the media, the public, and policymakers, but it is no less significant. We want the public to be included in this conversation to ensure a democratic approach to the development and ethical evaluation of this technology.
Dr. Matt Ryan, Study Co-Author and Political Scientist, University of Southampton
The authors outline steps that the research community may do right away to direct their effort in addition to stressing the necessity for a governance framework.
Dr. Victoria Webster-Wood, a Biomechanical Engineer from Carnegie Mellon University in the US and study co-author said, “Taking these steps should not be seen as prescriptive in any way, but as an opportunity to share responsibility, taking a heavy weight away from the researcher’s shoulders. Research in bio-hybrid robotics has evolved in various directions. We need to align our efforts to fully unlock its potential.”