While pain can be an unpleasant experience, it's a fundamental mechanism in the body to help it identify threats, but scientists have figured out whether robots should be programmed to experience pain. A new documentary from Cambridge University scientists tackles this controversial issue by looking at the philosophical, ethical and social issues surrounding the artificial programming of pain.
The documentary, called Pain in the Car, provides a better understanding of the concept of pain, according to a range of experts, including artificial intelligence researchers, robot designers, and medical practitioners. Pain in robots can help them prevent pain for themselves and others.
Kevin Rathbone, a consultant for Robotae, said: “If a robot had to go to a final stop and just drove through it, it could hurt itself. If, instead, it detects an end stop and retreats a little, then this protects it from damage. In a sense, there are parallels with the human pain response."
From the point of view of the practicality of creating pain in robots, the researchers believe that it will not be a difficult process. Dr. Ewen John Smith, professor of pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, said: "Designing a robot to create its physical environment, or physical pain, is a simple enough operation, and this feeling already exists to a certain extent in robots."
However, it remains to be seen how the balance of ethical, philosophical and social issues associated with pain will be maintained, and whether robots in the future should be programmed to sense it.
Burmas Roman