Stories and Computing
HAZOP can also be applied to what are termed “ethical hazards”, these being all potential sources of ethical harm. A number of ethical hazards relevant to robots and robotic devices can be found in BSI 8611, and include user robot addiction, lack of transparency and compromised user privacy. EHAZOP uses a systematic technique based on HAZOP (hazard analysis) to identify ethical hazards associated with the functionality or design of a robot.
EHAZOP, or Ethical HAZOP, uses a systematic technique based on HAZOP (hazard analysis) to identify ethical hazards associated with the functionality or design of a robot.
Ethical hazards are defined to be those events, properties or characteristics associated with the system which could potentially lead to ethical harm. As with HAZOP, we can use a collaborative, systematic process of guideword application to determine how ethical hazards can present in a given robot. For example:
EHAZOP is recommended to be applied only to public-facing robots, including assistive robots. Embodiment is not necessary; EHAZOP can also be applied to a disembodied AI.
EHAZOP guidewords are to be applied to different aspects, characteristics or functions of the robot, to determine whether any of the ethical hazards identified in BSI 8611 may be present in this robot’s specification or potential operation.
A summary of the guide words to be used in EHAZOP is included below:
| Guideword | Explanation |
|---|---|
| More | some aspect, characteristic or function of the robot is increased or emphasised |
| Less | some aspect, characteristic or function of the robot is decreased or de-emphasised |
| Not enough | inadequate provision of some aspect, characteristic or function of the robot |
| Too much | there is too much provision or emphasis of some aspect, characteristic or function of the robot |
| Early | some function or activity of the robot is performed earlier than expected |
| Late | some function or activity of the robot is performed later than expected |
| Never | some function or activity of the robot that is expected is never performed |
| As well as | some function or activity of the robot has a side-effect unperceived by the user |
| Reverse | some function or activity has the opposite effect from that expected by the user |
| Different | some aspect, characteristic or function of the robot is increased or emphasized |
A summary of the aspects, characteristics or functions of the robot to be used in conjunction with the guidewords is included below:
| Component | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Functionality | the functions (each must be considered individually) performed by the robot |
| Physical design | the physical design and appearance of the robot |
| Preliminary interactions | the extent to which the robot interacts with the user outside of its prescribed minimal functionality |
| Movement | the way in which the robot moves |
| Autonomy | the extent to which the robot takes action or makes decisions without recourse to user input |