The Philosophical Case for Robot Friendship

Abstract

Friendship is an important part of the good life. While many roboticists are eager to create friend-like robots, many philosophers and ethicists are concerned. They argue that robots cannot really be our friends. Robots can only fake the emotional and behavioural cues we associate with friendship.

Are friends electric? The benefits and risks of human-robot relationships

“…The philosopher John Danaher has considered the nature of human-robot friendship, on the basis of the distinction, originated by Aristotle, and popular in many contemporary discussions of friendship, between “virtue” friends and “utility” and “pleasure” friends ( Danaher, 2019 ). The virtue friend, according to Aristotle and Danaher, is one “that is premised on mutual good will and well-wishing, and that is pursued out of mutual admiration and shared values on both sides ( Danaher, 2019 , p. 9).” The utility friend, on the other hand, is one who helps you achieve some instrumental gain, and the pleasure-friendship is one where the principal benefit is a hedonic one. For Aristotle, the virtue friendship was “perfect” and other forms of friendship “imperfect.”…”

“…Discussion and refinement of the virtue friend concept has led to it be associated with the conditions of mutuality, authenticity, equality, and diversity of interaction ( Danaher, 2019 ). For several commentators (e.g.…”

Rituals and Machines: A Confucian Response to Technology-Driven Moral Deskilling

“…119-121). 2 She points out that caring, understood as active provision of support to people who are in need, is a type of skill. For example, for nurses and caregivers to care well, both knowledge and know-how of caring are necessary.…”

“…Here, I describe the three paradigms and discuss their answer to moral deskilling; in particular, I examine whether they can account for the more radical changes in the existing human practices, including individuals' habits, brought by new technology like robots and smart machines. 2 Vallor [10] also offers autonomous weapons systems (AWSs) and multitasking in social media as examples of technology-driven moral deskilling, where she rightly notes that "the conduct of killing in war demands considerable moral skill if it is not to descend into utter moral chaos" (p. 114) and "knowing when to pay attention [to specific tasks] is . .…”

“…The introduction of robots and smart machines into our lives can significantly alter the existing human-human interactions (and relationship), and this shift to human-machine interaction can be for better or worse. Philosophers and roboticists have already carefully scrutinized the potential social, ethical, and legal issues raised by the supplement and replacement of humans by robots and smart machines in various aspects of our lives [1], e.g., in friendship (e.g., [2]) and intimate relationship (e.g., [3]), in classroom (e.g., [4]), and at home and at work (e.g., [5]), and their aim is to examine whether the design and use of robots and smart machines are ethically permissible and/or conducive to the good life.…”