How to Apply Asimov's First Law to Sex Robots

Sex robots may be surfacing in recent controversy, but they are certainly not a novelty in the academic debate. However, given the lack of legal reasonings in this field of research, the instant paper aims at examining the balancing of the fundamental rights involved in the sex robots’ manufacture and usage, taking Asimov’s first law as the main starting point and with an eye to a future law-making process.
Specifically, Section 1 gives a brief overview on how to define sex robots, while distinguishing them from sex toys and pornography. Section 2 interprets Asimov’s first law in order to apply it to sex robots. Section 3 develops a pertaining legal reasoning based on competing fundamental rights, i.e. the user’s sexual freedom and the manufacturer’s freedom of enterprise versus the gender dignity and right to equality. Finally, the conclusions review the main findings and address considerations to policy makers.

Jaar van publicatie:2020

Trefwoorden:Sex Robots, Fundamental Rights, Asimov's First Law

Toegankelijkheid:Open