According to CNN, at the recent World Robot Conference in China, XPeng’s IRON robot was presented and was so humanlike that many attendees questioned whether it was a machine or a person in disguise.
This technological leap has sparked a vital debate: is it necessary for robots to be indistinguishable from us? While human-like robots can enhance interaction and acceptance, their realism also raises significant legal and ethical concerns.
The EU Machinery Directive and EU AI Act do not forbid the manufacture of humanlike robots, but the debate continues. If robots soon become impossible to tell apart from humans, society will face unprecedented legal and ethical challenges.
Who will be held responsible if a humanlike robot deceives or causes harm? How will privacy be safeguarded, and how can transparency be ensured? Current regulations, such as the EU Machinery Directive and the EU AI Act, assign responsibility to manufacturers and require transparency for high-risk AI. However, they do not specifically address other risks posed by humanlike robots, such as fraud, loss of trust, or impersonation of individuals.
As robots become increasingly humanlike, it’s up to us to consider: Should we permit robots to be indistinguishable from humans?
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