The World in 2030

278 The World in 2030
But it is in the general world that the most attention to
robot behaviour and safety will have to be applied between
now and 2030. As The Economist reported in 2006:
With robots now poised to emerge from their industrial
cages and to move into homes and workplaces,
roboticists are concerned about the safety
implications beyond the factory floor. To address
these concerns, leading robot experts have come
together to try to find ways to prevent robots from
harming people. Inspired by the Pugwash Conferences
– an international group of scientists, academics
and activists founded in 1957 to campaign
for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons – the
new group of robo-ethicists met earlier this year in
Genoa, Italy, and announced their initial findings
in March at the European Robotics Symposium in
Palermo, Sicily. 499
And robots will have to be taught how to behave when they
are around humans – in essence, they have to be taught
manners. In September of 2006 the robotics department
of the University of Hertfordshire 500 held a conference to
discuss the development of future robots.
Having established a ‘robot house’ in Hertfordshire
researchers told The Guardian 501 that they had come
to the conclusion that domestic robots should not be
given names as ‘this can cause gender issues which are
undesirable.’ The researchers also said that robots have
to be taught how to approach people in ways that do not
startle humans.