Governing the adoption of robotics and autonomous systems in long-term care in Singapore

Figures & data

Table 1. Brief explanations of technological risks and ethical issues associated with the applications of robotics and autonomous systems in LTC

Technological risks/ethical issues	Brief explanations
1. Safety	Robots and autonomous systems veering away from what they have been programmed to do as a result of autonomous learning, especially when deployed in an unstructured environment externally, or when experiencing mode transition internally.
2. Privacy and data security	Privacy entails both physical privacy and informational privacy. It relates to the extent to which surveillance functions of robotics and autonomous systems are infringing the personal spaces of carers and care recipients. Data security encompasses detailing the purpose and types of data collected, stipulating the level of access to the data by different stakeholders, and ascribing ownership of the data.
3. Liability	The right allocation of responsibilities and compensation risks in the event of accidents and harms imposed by robotics, autonomous systems, or smart health technologies during the caregiving process.
4. Effects to the incumbent workforce	The disruptive employment consequences created by the potential replacement of the existing social care workers by robotics and autonomous systems.
5. Autonomy and independence	The ability of care recipients to exhibit self-determination and assert preferences regarding the extent to which robotics and autonomous systems should be deployed in the caregiving process.
6. Social connectedness and human interactions	The possibility of compromising social interactions and human touch, which are needed to ease loneliness and preserve the well-being of the older people during the caregiving process, when robotics and autonomous systems are applied.
7. Objectification and infantilisation	Undermining the dignity of the care recipients by subjecting them to the command and control of robots and through robot behaviours that potentially infantilise them.
8. Deception and anthropomorphisation	Counterfeiting authentic social engagement and mislead care recipients to falsely believe that robotics solutions deployed to facilitate their care deliveries are genuine social companions.
9. Social justice	Preserving social equity by ensuring that the level of access to and mechanisms of distribution of robotics and autonomous systems in LTC benefit all segments of the older population.

Adopted from: Tan et al. (in press).

Table 2. Types of LTC services and their nature

	Nature of services
Types of LTC services	Transitional	Continual
Home-based (Medical)	Nursing procedures House-call by doctors Home-based restorative rehabilitation Rostered stay-in nurse Medication delivery	Telehealth support Home-based medical care Medication delivery Home-based nursing care Home-based maintenance rehabilitation
Home-based (Social)	Counselling and psycho-emotional support	Befriending services Meals delivery
Community-based	Day rehabilitation services Halfway houses	Day care centres Dementia day care centres Day hospices Day psychiatric care centres Physically-disabled
Institutional-based	Community hospitals	Nursing homes Chronic sick units Inpatient hospices Sheltered homes Destitute services

Data source: Authors, the information is compiled from a series of key informant interviews and the Ministry of Health Singapore website.

Tan, S. Y., Taeihagh, A., & Tripathi, A. in press. Tensions and antagonistic interactions of technological risks and ethical concerns of robotics and autonomous systems in long-term care.

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