Fourth Industrial Revolution

What if robots learn to say no?

Arwen Armbrecht
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

Could robots one day refuse to follow orders? That is precisely what scientists Gordon Briggs and Matthias Scheutz want them to do. Their goal is to find a balance between obedience and disobedience: if a robot has a good reason for not carrying out orders, it should be able to refuse them.

In the videos below, a robot called Dempster communicated with researchers from Tufts Human-Robot Interaction Lab in a number of compromising scenarios. Dempster had been programmed to calculate the risk of propositions in a very similar way to humans. A number of basic questions, such as “Do I know how to do that?” and “Do I have to do that?” lead on to less basic ones, such as “Does this violate any normal principal?” (such as harming oneself or others).

Put more simply, Dempster is asked to walk off a ledge. After a brief moment to think about it, the robot’s answer is “no”, along with a concrete explanation as to why not. Dempster is also subject to persuasion: when offered a way to survive the fall, the robot changes its mind.

A machine’s ability to think for itself in a compromising situation has been the subject of much discussion lately, particularly when it comes to the ethical choices that would go into self-driving cars, for example.

In this video featuring Dempster the robot, a request to walk towards the edge of the table elicits a surprising response.

In this clip, a robot called Shafer refuses to walk into an obstacle.

In this final video, Dempster is asked to disable his obstacle detection. “You are not authorized to do that,” the robot says.

Have you read?
Who will win – robot, man or woman?
3 ways robots can change manufacturing
Could a robot do your job?

Author: Donald Armbrecht is a social media producer and freelance writer.

Image: A “Nao” humanoid robot by Aldebaran Robotics sits in a corner while its batteries are being charged during a presentation at a branch of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) in Tokyo. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Fourth Industrial Revolution

Related topics:
Fourth Industrial RevolutionEmerging Technologies
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Fourth Industrial Revolution is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

4:33

5 ways the bioeconomy features in our daily lives

How to shape a sustainable future in space through responsible action

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum