Ethical, Legal and Social Concerns Relating to Exoskeletons

Abstract

Exoskeletons, i.e., wearable robotics, are designed and built to amplify human strength and agility. In many cases, their purpose is to replace diminished or lost limb functionality, helping people regain some ambulatory freedom. As such, exoskeletons are particularly suited to help those with restricted mobility due to paralysis or weakened limbs. For all their promise, exoskeletons and other wearable robotics raise a number of ethical and social concerns that will need to be confronted by ethicists, the industry, and society as a whole. General social concerns relate to the personal and psychological impact on disabled individuals and their families. And as a society, we may need to reconsider able-ness, in light of these and other technological opportunities for overcoming our limitations. But that’s only for those who can afford these machines: with exoskeletons costing as much as a luxury car, there are social justice concerns relating to access to this cost-prohibitive technology, as well as the eventual dependencies on such an expensive device. Ought insurers be required to purchase these for paralyzed individuals to significantly improve their quality of life; or are there competing interests and ideals that might support an insurer’s refusal to invest in this technology? Some exoskeleton manufacturers, in conjunction with defense contractors, are reportedly pursuing military grade as well as industrial grade exoskeleton solutions. These solution enable soldiers and workers to perform longer and harder. In upgrading humans into quasi-machines, however, we run the risk of treating them more like machines than humans. In the workplace this may result in the overworking of an employee, in the military this could further dehumanize warfare and its very human actors. The prospect of augmenting otherwise healthy individuals (as distinct from treatment focused on achieving, sustaining or restoring health) raises further ethical concerns relating to human enhancement, an area fraught with slippery slopes. These issues are not only limited to our regular daily interactions, but also arise in sports, as the disabled (and now disgraced) Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, has shown us. There are no simple solutions for any of these issues, although many solutions may arise organically; for example, costs and access issues may be lessened as the technology becomes more widespread and cheaper. Other issues can be dealt with through well thought out regulatory solutions. But, for society at large, exoskeletons and other future human enhancements technologies raise much more longstanding and complex questions that will force us to redefine how we perceive humanity and self.

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