Alan Winfield, University of the West England, UK

In general technology is trusted if it brings benefits while also being safe, well regulated and, when accidents happen, subject to robust investigation. One of the reasons we trust airliners is that we know they are part of a highly regulated industry with an excellent safety record. The reason commercial aircraft are so safe is not just good design, it is also the tough safety certification processes and, when things do go wrong, robust processes of air accident investigation. Should driverless cars, for instance, be regulated through a body similar to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), with a driverless car equivalent of the Air Accident Investigation Branch?

Regulation requires regulatory bodies, linked with public engagement to provide transparency and confidence in the robustness of regulatory processes. All of which supports the process of building public trust, as shown in the figure below.

In this workshop contribution I will make the argument that responsible robotics needs ethical governance, and – based on the framework above – outline the component parts of governance in robotics.