What is a social robot, and are autonomous drones social agents? What should a robot do or not do, and how is that connected to autonomous weapons? Johanna Seibt, professor in philosophy and co-founder of the field of robophilosophy, gives her insights on how interactions with robots that can act like agents impact our lives. What does it mean for our mutual respect on the battlefield if we let robots kill? What is phronesis, and in what way can an AI or a robot be programmed ethically? And what is the Collingridge dilemma?

Besides offering her expertise on human-robot interaction, Johanna Seibt reflects on the black box problem, meaningful human control, existential risk and the future of regulating AI.

Shownotes:

Producer and host: Sune With, sunewith@cas.au.dk

Cover art: Sebastian Gram

- Artificial Intelligence Act, 2025, Wikipedia (Accessed April 28. 2025)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligence_Act

- Collingridge dilemma, Wikipedia, (Accessed April 27. 2025)

- EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence, 19.02.2025, European Parliament (Accessed April 28. 2025)

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20230601STO93804/eu-ai-act-first-regulation-on-artificial-intelligence

- The Research Unit for Robophilosophy (Accessed April 27. 2025)

https://cas.au.dk/en/robophilosophy⁠

- Sullins, John P, 2026, ”Automated Ethical Practical Reasoning: The Problem of Artificial Phronesis”, Chapter 10 in, J. Seibt, R. Hakli, M. Nørskov, Robophilosophy—Philosophy of, for and by Social Robotics, MIT Press (NOT YET PUBLISHED)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collingridge_dilemma

Music: Sofus Forsberg