Roboethics - Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability - page 85

need to intervene in case of problems. The role of the medical robot and whether it
should be considered a tool or an aid to doctors and other medical personnel are
probably more ambiguous in other circumstances. However, the fi nal responsibility
should always be that of the human surgeon (Veruggio 2002 ).
Nano- and femto-(subatomic particle size) robots may revolutionise medicine
and enable a wide range of conditions, such as heart disease and cancer, including
currently untreatable serious and life-threatening illnesses to be cured. However,
considerable further research will be required before this is possible (Kostarelos
2010 ). Therefore, the fi rst ethical issue is great care in the dissemination of informa-
tion about such treatments to avoid raising unjustifi ed expectations and hopes. From
the ethical perspective, nano- and femto-scale robots have a number of disadvan-
tages. In particular, their short- and long-term impacts on humans and the environ-
ment are unknown due to lack of experience of their use. Therefore, the associated
risks are also highly uncertain. However, potential impacts could occur at the
molecular level, making nano- and femto-scale robots qualitatively different from
existing medical technologies. This argues for considerable caution and the need for
extensive testing before they are used. It may also be diffi cult to develop appropriate
ethical testing procedures which do not put people, animals or the environment at
risk.
Although the technology is not yet available, it is not unlikely that at some point
in the not too distant future, semi-autonomous nanorobots will be developed that
can be implanted in the body to detect and repair at least some problems. Such
robots would raise a number of additional ethical issues, including issues related to
informed consent and understanding of the long-term implications, particularly
since the robots would remain permanently in the person's body. There would prob-
ably also be associated (data) security and privacy issues, since the robots will prob-
ably obtain and may store or transmit medical data about the person. It is therefore
essential both that individuals know and fully understand what type of information
is being produced and stored about them and that appropriate privacy management
systems are implemented to ensure they have control over this data and its uses.

5.2 Military Robots

This is unfortunately one of the areas in which there is considerable interest and for
which signifi cant research funding and other resources are available. As discussed
in Chap. 11 , robotic aircraft or armed drones fl own by ground-based pilots and
guided by space satellite technology from computer terminals are being used in a
range of applications, including spying and surveillance. Other possibilities include
autonomous tanks or armoured vehicles carrying weapons and/or tactical payloads,
intelligent bombs and missiles, autonomous underwater vehicles and submarines
and intelligent torpedoes. Particular problems with the use of drones and other
autonomous and robotic systems include the impossibility of distinguishing between
civilians and combatants and the distancing of both governments and the military