Ethics for robots?

This is one firmly for the 'etc' section of the blog.

The Telegraph tells us that the "technology obsessed" South Koreans are drawing up an ethical charter for robots. The Korean ministry of commerce, industry and energy said, "The government plans to set ethical guidelines concerning the roles and functions of robots. The move anticipates the day when robots, particularly intelligent service robots, could become a part of daily life."

According to the Telegraph, "The Koreans have an ambitious robot programme, in part inspired by a predicted shortage of manpower as the consequences of its birth-rate, the lowest in the world, begin to sink in. The country has plans to develop robots capable of looking after the elderly, as well as performing household chores."

Apparently, the Korean Government is also developing a new armed robot in tandem with Samsung which is being designed to guard the border with Japan and fire automatic weapons. It will be interesting to see how they reconcile that with the new charter...