From MilkingBots to RoboDolphins

Author(s)

Leonie Nora Bossert, Mark Coeckelbergh

Abstract

Technologies, especially disruptive technologies, have a great potential to change and reshape human-human as well as human-technology relations. This creates various ethical challenges that need to be addressed. However, technologies also have great potential to change human-animal relations. Since this aspect is underexplored in the academic debate on technologies’ impact on relations, we believe that it is important to (1), descriptively, study how new and emerging technologies impact human-animal relations, and (2), normatively, to enrich the debate with a non-anthropocentric perspective that recognizes that human-animal relations also have moral significance. Therefore, in this paper we investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and robotics impact human-animal relations, and we discuss the moral significance of these changes. AI technologies change human-animal relations due to, first, automation, and second, replacement processes. Automation processes mainly take place in the animal agriculture sector, and the replacement of biological animals with artificial AI-driven animals mainly in the context of zoos, companion animals and laboratories. We address both processes (automation and replacement), thereby providing an overview of how the use of AI technologies will—or can—change human-animal relations, at both the individual and societal levels. While doing so, we highlight the morally significant aspects that come along with such changes and provide first thoughts on which uses of AI are welcomed from a perspective of human-animal relations.

Organisation(s)

Department of Philosophy

Journal

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Volume

11

ISSN

2662-9992

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03441-3

Publication date

2024

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

603122 Philosophy of technology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Arts and Humanities(all), Social Sciences(all), Psychology(all), Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all), Business, Management and Accounting(all)

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/from-milkingbots-to-robodolphins(f5f379bb-299d-47f2-901d-dd7a1aa2a8c4).html