护理机器人辅助居家养老的伦理困境研究——基于价值敏感设计理论

Research on the Ethical Dilemmas of Nursing Robots Assisted Home-based Elderly Care:Based on Value Sensitive Design Theory

在人口老龄化问题日益突出的今天,愈加智能化、集成化和拟人化的护理机器人正成为未来居家养老的重要可选项。然而,当长期提供服务的护理机器人作为社会实体参与老年人的社会生活时可能会产生一系列伦理困境。例如人机间低层次互动交流对人际高层次互动交流的侵占,以及由于道德主体不明所造成的责任界定纠纷。价值敏感设计理论主张将价值纳入技术设计,而基于其概念研究、实证研究和技术研究的三元综合、迭代法可以发现:上述相关伦理困境产生之根本原因在于对人类护理者—老年人—护理机器人的三元护理关系之混淆错位。据此提出应明确老年人和人类护理者的使用者地位,而护理机器人则是作为辅助工具满足老年人的护理需求,保护并增进老年人的福祉。

With aging population becoming increasingly prominent,more intelligent,integrated,and anthropomorphic nursing robots are becoming an important option for future home-based elderly care.However,a series of ethical dilemmas may arise when nursing robots that provide long-term services participate in the social life of the elderly as social entities.For example,the encroachment of low-level interaction between humans and nursing robots on the high-level interaction between humans,as well as the dispute over the definition of responsibility caused by unclear moral subjects.The value sensitive design theory advocates incorporating value into technical design,and based on its conceptual research,empirical research,and iterative approach,it can be found that the fundamental reason for the above-mentioned ethical dilemma lies in the confusion and dislocation of the ternary nursing relationship among human caregivers,the elderly,and nursing robots.Accordingly,this paper proposed to clarify the user status of the elderly and human caregivers,while nursing robots serve as auxiliary tools to meet the nursing needs of the elderly,protect and enhance the well-being of the elderly.