Robots in public spaces: implications for policy design

Figures & data

Table 1. Robots in public spaces – key issues.

Issue	Explanation
1 Safety	Robots can create safety risks to the public due to both physical design features and how operators design and control their functionality.
2 Privacy and Ethics	Robots can raise privacy concerns because they collect large amounts of unique information during their interactions with people and the environment and can contribute that information to existing datasets for potentially many subsequent, unrelated uses.
3 Productivity	Robots might enhance productivity in specific activities but hinder or obstruct other activities.
4 Esthetics	Robots might detract from the esthetics of a public space, making that space less convenient for citizens, more crowded, and unattractive.
5 Co-Creation	Robot designers could develop robots without considering whether or not their presence and actions are broadly acceptable to the communities where they will be deployed.
6 Equitable Access	Greater use of robots in public spaces could produce benefits only enjoyed by affluent individuals and communities while imposing unwelcome challenges for poorer ones.
7 System Innovation	If the operations of robots in public spaces are poorly handled, their potential to enhance the quality of human life could be limited.

Table 2. Robots in public spaces – a policy design checklist.

Checklist Questions	Proposed Policy Responses	Explanation
1 How Can We Ensure Safety?	Regulation, Monitoring, and Enforcement	Regulation and monitoring could reduce safety risks to the public through prescribing specific features of robots and requiring operators hold licenses.
2 How Can We Address Privacy and Ethics Concerns?	Regulation, Monitoring, and Enforcement	Privacy and ethics concerns could be addressed through specification of appropriate uses of what can be done with the information robots collect and monitoring to reduce the risk that privacy breaches go undetected.
3 How Can We Advance Productivity?	Regulations and Provision of Incentives	Regulations could ensure that robots only operate in public when they are deemed to enhance productivity. Incentives could be provided to encourage robot designers to ensure robots enhance productivity and do not hinder other activities.
4 How Should We Attend to Esthetics?	Monitoring and Co-Design	Monitoring could ensure robots contribute to the esthetics of public spaces. Mechanisms for co-design could increase the likelihood that ideas and concerns of citizens are incorporated into the calibration of robots for specific public spaces.
5 How Can We Encourage Co-creation?	Provision of Incentives	Incentives could be provided, including prizes, to encourage robot designers to work with citizens in developing robots for use in public spaces.
6 How can we promote equitable access?	Monitoring and Subsidies	Deployment of robots could be monitored to assess who benefits most from their use in public spaces. Provision of subsidies could increase the likelihood that the benefits of robots would be enjoyed by all members of society.
7 How Can We Facilitate Systemic Innovation?	Monitoring and Funding	Government monitoring could include environment scans to assess how new and promising developments could be broadly introduced. Funds could be used to support system innovation, in the same way that funds have frequently been allocated to aspects of Research and Development.