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Robot Nudgers. What About Transparency?

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Software Engineering and Formal Methods. SEFM 2022 Collocated Workshops (SEFM 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13765))

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Abstract

Robot nudgers – i.e. robots who employ nudges to steer users toward targeted behaviours – are a concrete reality nowadays. Although robot nudgers look like a promising technology for making individuals and society better off, some ethically relevant questions in programming them have been so far under-examined. The paper aims to contribute to filling this gap, identifying two ethical issues concerning nudges’ transparency relevant when robots step into the shoes of nudgers. I proceed as follows. The paper begins by outlining what policy tools can be considered nudges (Sect. 1) and why scholars advocate for making their implementation transparent in order to shield persons’ decision-making autonomy (Sect. 2). Therefore, I focus on the still unripe literature on robot-nudging and, in light of it, I properly frame ethical issues concerning nudges’ transparency in human-robot interactions (Sect. 3). In Sect. 4, I discuss two ethically relevant points concerning transparency in robot-nudging so far overlooked. First, Robot nudgers - in contrast with human-nudgers - are potentially able to customize the kind of transparency granted to a specific user. Second, robot nudgers are able to monitor the impact of any feasible mixes of nudges and transparency on the effectiveness of the nudges in steering decision-makers. In both cases, ethically relevant questions emerge. I conclude by advocating for the involvement of ethicists in robot nudgers’ programming at an early stage, in line with an integrative approach to social robotics (Sect. 5).

This work has been supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, prot. UI/BD/152568/2022.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This does not amount to saying that informing cannot be a form of nudging; instead, informing should be considered a form of nudging when cognitive biases are exploited (see [26]).

  2. 2.

    It is reasonable to believe that the same could result from boosting strategies, in which decisionmakers are put in the condition to exercise their agency [13].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ethics, Politics and Society, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Stefano Calboli

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  1. Stefano Calboli
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Correspondence to Stefano Calboli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, VA, USA

    Paolo Masci

  2. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Cinzia Bernardeschi

  3. University of Urbino, Urbino, Pesaro-Urbino, Italy

    Pierluigi Graziani

  4. Gesellschaft zur Förderung angewandter, Berlin, Germany

    Mario Koddenbrock

  5. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Maurizio Palmieri

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Calboli, S. (2023). Robot Nudgers. What About Transparency?. In: Masci, P., Bernardeschi, C., Graziani, P., Koddenbrock, M., Palmieri, M. (eds) Software Engineering and Formal Methods. SEFM 2022 Collocated Workshops. SEFM 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13765. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26236-4_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26236-4_24

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