Working with Robots as Colleagues: Kenyan Perspectives of Ethical Concerns on Possible Integration of Co-bots in Workplaces

Abstract

AbstractRobots are moving closer to human beings especially in work environments. The entry of co-bots into workspaces raises many questions. One of the key questions surrounds the likely relationship between the co-bots and their co-workers. Are co-bots to be considered as colleagues or are they tools? What ethical issues emerge from this consideration in the context of Kenyan workspaces? This chapter discusses these questions in the Kenyan context. Data for the chapter was collected using qualitative interviews with 20 data scientists selected through information-oriented purposive sampling. The chapter concludes that there are six ethical issues which can influence the perceptions of co-bots by data scientists in Kenya. These include the concept of work as a divine gift to humanity which cannot be shared with machines; the notion that treating co-bots as legal persons equates them to human beings which is viewed as demeaning to humanity; the fear that co-bots will dominate and eventually replace humans in ordinary workspaces thereby denying the latter not just an opportunity to work but to livelihood too; fear of unintended social consequences of “anthropomorphisation”; lack of trust for machines created by limited humans to offer unlimited services and companionship; and discomfort with exotic robots entering professional but also indigenous spaces. Until these ethical issues are addressed comprehensively, it is unlikely that information scientists would unreservedly welcome co-bots into their workspaces as colleagues.