Roboethics: A Bibliometric Review [2005-2021]

Abstract

Morality and ethics are inter-connected issues that have faced the human race since time immemorial. The expectation that all human interactions be based on ethical foundations has inspired the same concerns to resonate in the field of human-robot interactions. The present study aims to understand the contemporary status of the field of Roboethics through a Bibliometric analysis of literature published between 2005 and 2021. Information on 1405 documents sourced from the Artificial Intelligence (AI) dimensions database and further evaluated for relevance yielded 567 documents for analysis in VOS viewer. The results indicate increased importance of the field through a recent peak in document number publications in 2019 with seminal contributions of authors like Mark Coeckelbergh amongst others. The network of Institutions, authors, documents, countries and sources was derived as a result of citation metrics and analysis. Co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling indicated important themes of documents such as Machine, AI ethics, engineering ethics; socially assistive robots; and robot for the elderly, robot rights and governance of legal aspects amongst others. The present study is unique in referencing a wide diaspora of documents for a more representative view of an area that is uniquely positioned to influence human lives. Inculcation of ethics in robots will indicate whether human lives will take a turn for the better or worsen.

Keywords: Roboethics, Robots, Bibliometric Analysis, Ethics, Engineering Ethics, Sociable Robots

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