Robot Self-defense: Robot, don't hurt me, no more

Would it be okay for a robot to hurt a human, if by doing so it could protect someone else? Such ethical questions could be vital to consider, as the market for social robots grows larger and robots become increasingly prevalent in our surroundings. Here we introduce the topic of “robot self-defense”, which involves the use of force by a robot in response to violence, to protect a human in its care. To explore this topic, we conducted a preliminary analysis of the literature, as well as brainstorming sessions, which led us to formulate an idea about how people will perceive robot self-defense based on the perceived risk of loss. Additionally, we propose a study design to investigate how the general public will perceive the acceptability of a robot using self-defense techniques. As part of this, we describe some hypotheses based on the assumption that the perceived acceptability will be affected by both the entities involved in a violent situation and the amount of force that is applied. The proposed scenarios will be used in a future survey to evaluate participants' perception of a social robot using self-defense techniques under varying circumstances, toward stimulating ideation and discussion on how robots will be able to help people to live better lives.