“A robot is a sophisticated toaster—why would you ask it for mortgage advice?”

“What Fairtrade did for coffee, we aim to do for robotics," said Aimee van Wynsberghe, president of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics 

From an early career in cell biology to the world of robot ethics, Aimee van Wynsberghe has always had a passion for big-picture-thinking.

A relative newcomer to the space, van Wynsberghe admits she first had the idea to combine technology and ethics during her work as a research assistant at a robotics institute in Canada (CSTAR). She recalls thinking to herself, “Maybe I should find a way to ask these questions about technology.”

Fast forward a decade and van Wynsberghe is pioneering research as a global robotics ethicist, having recently been named by Robohub as one of 25 women in robotics you need to know about in 2017.

She’s also the co-founder and president of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics—a not-for-profit organization focused on shaping the future of responsible design, development, use, regulation and implementation of robotics.

This month, as we welcome van Wynsberghe to the Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Automation Advisory Board, we sat down to discuss all things robot ethics…

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