Robotics and Political and Legal Influences - Essay Example

Robotics and Political and legal influences Robotics and Political and legal influences Introduction There is fast introductionof innovatory technologies in the practice of surgery. An example is the robotic surgery that is developed by a computer. This leads to enhance of convolution in a variety of features such as legal, ethical and medical. New avenues are likely to be opened by robotic surgery in the near future when surgical practice is concerned. Nonetheless, in robotic surgery, familiarity, exceptional training together with expert evaluation is needed to present state-of-art treatment and average conscientious care. Whilst the certified dependability lawful basis stays precisely the same, the proceedings through the employment of robotic surgery might be intricate (Chachibaia, 2012). Incase of a detrimental result moreover to hospital and general practitioner, the robotic systems’ producer may be prosecuted. In concern of ethical subjects comprised in robotic surgery, apparatus dependability and safety, preservation of discretion and stipulation of sufficient information all are of supreme significance. Moreover, the fee of robotic surgery and majority public health centers being short of the systems might limit many people from advantages presented by the advanced technology. Whilst surgical robots will cover an essential impact on the practice of surgery, it offers numerous difficulties in the area of ethics and law as compared to health care and medical Discussion Nowadays, the society have been subjected to technological advances which is seen to establish itself in all sectors of life. For instance, the healthcare sector has seen advances in nanotechnology and robotics. In as much as the technology has taken over the system, it is clear that some legal issues should be addressed with regards to the ethical problems (Saner & Geelen, 2013). A lot of issues have been neglected by the lawmakers making it become a problematic issue in the future. Several issues can be implemented in order for the technology to be termed to show legal and ethical disparities. These issues can be initiated through the aspects of human life and human body. The fundamental; issues related to legalities of the country and the system which governs the health of their citizens. Taking into considerations the risks involved in implementation of the technology, the assessments of the robotics will be put into place. This would mean the legal policies should be enacted through the guidelines and assessment of the public. From a number of procedures, it is evident that with the robotic surgery, the patient experiences minimal bleeding and convalesces more quickly. The Leonardo Da Vinci robot that is worth $1.4 million is praised as a breakthrough in plainly insidious surgery. Using the robot’s compound controlled arms together with the 3D elevated definition camera; surgeons are able to operate via minute cuts with more visual lucidity and accuracy (Borenstein, 2012). However, there are several cases of Leonardo operations going wrong given that doctors are not familiar with the advance technology. This has resulted to apprehensions that several health cares have loose credentialing values for surgeons who utilize the robot. According to surgeons, robotic surgery is a fresh field that seems exhilarating, though, it requires a lot of guidelines to prevail. Surgeons require more education and constant support from hospitals. Since robotic surgery remains an up coming albeit field that is growing very fast, there are no standards for credentialing medical doctors to employ the machine. That remains the responsibility of every hospital (Saner & Geelen, 2013). It is a political sensitive issue since no body wants to create standards for the rest of the people. In accordance to Dr. Graham Greene, a professional in robotic assisted prostatectomy who is a urologic oncologist at the medical center of Lakeland region, one wants to control surgeons from applying robotic surgery, as adequate cases have not been done in a particular year (Chachibaia, 2012). He asserts that in the last year, surgeons carried out around 100 robotic supported prostatectomies. In accordance to Vaught and other robotic surgeons, attempts to come up with consistent strategies for credentialing medical practitioner are under way (Borenstein, 2012). For instance, the prime Unites States association known as American association of gynecological laparoscopists, which deals with minimally persistent surgical matters created its personal robotic board this particular year with an objective of instituting standardized credentialing standards. Legal and ethical responsibilities of medical robot Currently, robotics is expanding in a variety of fields and however is escalating the application responsibility in medical clinic fields as well. It is obvious how the health robotics as well as the nursing care robots are performing dynamic roles in several hospitals. More tangibly speaking, the cytocare robot in reformation of cytotoxins is extremely helpful in hospitals. Of late, robots emerge in medical clinics as well as women (Borenstein, 2012). Medical robots may play some significant roles in the health care fields. The legal and ethical complications likely to be originated by robots to human health or human body are extensively ranged. Medical robots can bring about some advantages. According to the scarcity of workers in the medical fields, the robots assist a lot in performing the services required. More so, in the nursing care for old people, these robots can play a very significant role. For instance, the cytocare robot in re configuration to cytotoxics can assist in clinics because of the precision like as clockwise (Saner & Geelen, 2013). On the other hand, even with all the benefits, the employment of robots, also have some disadvantages, which include both predictable as well as unforeseeable ones. Firstly, robots utilized in the medical fields can pose concrete injury or danger to the human body once applied as a medical device to a human being. It is possible to link it to Tort Law, Product Liability Act and Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. The second disadvantage is that the medical robots can cause a sort of conceptual or real danger to the mind of a human being once employed to mediate in it. This makes it hard to evaluate the kind of legal task that ought to be inflicted (Bos & International Council on Medical and Care Compunetics 2011). Thirdly, is considering the predicament on whether regions of medical robots should be synchronized legally to endorse welfare or not. If yes, then it should be considered on how to control the quandary since roboethics is insufficiently effectual to safeguarding the daily life of human beings. To be able to achieve this, civil sanctions should be considered to see if they predict the danger results of the condition. Currently, law of damage is an alternative to resolve matters regarding the robotics incase it can verify the causation linking the damage and the medical robots (Saner & Geelen, 2013). Product liability by the Act of PL is also an alternative that is effectual legal sanction. Incase the civil sanctions meager then administration sanctions ought to be regarded. Administrative legislation should be reflected on to avoid dangerous behaviors in advance. Prevention of results’ publication, publicizing the project identification formally and freezing of expenditures put on research are also important to consider. Thirdly, incase the administrative sanction fails to meet the objectives, penal sanctions are put into practice. This endorsement is the minimal evaluation in the field. Hence, reparation systems exclusive of legal sanctions should be measured to save the lives of victims. To formulate an authorized rule is better than a guideline since robo-ethics is ineffective. It is significant for every business or company to formulate a observance program so as to guarantee products protection by itself thus business globe can distribute the information concerning the dangers brought by robotics and nanotechnology trans nationally (Chachibaia, 2012). Nonetheless, it is extra-convoluted moral matter whether man should create robots containing the aptitude to think and sensation just like humankind. However, in such kinds of robots, man should be prepared to take the accountability of administering them the same way as the human beings. Robotics is here to stay therefore making them an integral part of the human existence. Will they be able to mingle successfully with the human race, how would be the cohabitation between the two? Robots are genuinely different because they are unable to fully get into human capacities of interactions, sensations and the vulnerable state of human life. Human life is considered to be immortal while robots are mortal as they can only be destroyed (Singer 2009). Fear of the introduction of technology has been created among human beings especially the introduction of robots that have been said to replace human hands. In the health sector, robots have been introduced as they do not get fatigued nor get sick and are doomed to replace labor costs. Health sector is deemed to be the most expensive sector to start and to maintain. Training of doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners is costly and takes a lot of time. Introduction of robotics to replace this has been seen to be more effective to handle these problems. In European healthcare sector, robots are used as medical interventions, for diagnosis of diseases mostly malignant diseases, for preventive purposes, for rehabilitation and treatment. In surgery they are said to be more accurate and precise. In the moral standards of the society, robots are deemed not to conform to the moral capacity of the society therefore they pose a challenge in the way they socialize with human beings. A doctor is supposed to be human to the patient that is to be friendly in the way they relate with patients. Robots are not able to portray this character as they are machines without souls. A robot lacks expressions which in the human race goes a long way to assure something. A doctor’s expression can either give hope to a patient or make them lose hope. In the field of medical psychology, human psychology (a part of medical psychology) robots are feared that one day they will turn against the people who created them. Close contact of the robots and human being is doomed to be fatal as control of the robot may be hard. Robots are generally machines that are created to perform a specific function that human beings perform. Introduction of robots in psychology goes further to state that it can be dangerous for the human. This is especially because robots cannot be able to fit into the shoes of the patient. This therefore creates the fear among patients that they are controlled or their issues are not heard or they lack a shoulder to cry on. New ethical and policy challenges raised by advancement in robotics Ethical challenges are the principles that are overridden when using robotics in the health industry. There are laws of robots that have been put in place. They are A robot may not wound a human being or through functioning allow a human being to come to injury A robot must obey any order given to it by beings except where such orders would disagree with the first law A robot must guard its own subsistence as long as such fortification does not clash with the first or second law. These laws are put in place to allow for safer human and robots interactions. Robots may be created in the likeness of human beings but have no capacities of controlling what they do unless they are controlled. This means that they can infringe on the rights of human beings where the control system is at fault. In the medical sector, the interactions of the humans and the robots should be closely monitored. The challenges posed by robots include The rooming reduction of the human contact- human contact in the healthcare sector is very important. It creates a security perception in the mind of the patient that all is well. The introduction of robotics can create a sense of dissatisfaction among patients and this can greatly affect the patient satisfaction in health The inability to control the robots- this can create a fatal scene whereby the interactions of robots and human being may turn chaotic. This uncontrolled interactions in a healthcare centre may cause more harm than good putting into consideration the non avoidance of physical contact between the patient and the medical practitioner(robot in this case) Loss of privacy- robots are like computers that can be easily hacked to make information public. Robots also can give information to anyone who is able to operate it. The presence of a robot may also create a perception that a third party is present and therefore hard to convince a patient on the privacy. Personal loss of independence- the interactions between human beings and robots may be restricted or some areas become segregated only for robots. This inhibits human liberty to go anywhere they want. Also in the healthcare centers patients may not be able to integrate freely with the robots. Care of the elderly by robots- this may greatly lead to loss of dignity and isolation from socialization among the elderly. They are used to help in monitoring the behavior of the elderly and also their health. They are also used in this case to provide companionships. This reduces the interactions of the robots and the society. Some may feel neglected by the people they helped to be who they are (Geraci 2010). Therefore, more research is needed to bring effectiveness in the use of robotics in the healthcare provisions. The healthcare providers cite a lack of emotion portrayed by the robots. This is cemented by the fact that robots will never replace human care givers How these are mitigating the negative consequences of advancement in robotics It is thought that in the near future the robots will be able to perform certain functions such as replacing the caring hands of the nurse and also be able to perform surgeries. The question is whether use of robots will be able to insure human life as it’s the most important thing and reason why they have been introduced to the health sector. When surgeons are performing operations they need to be aside and leave the robot to perform the functions it is supposed to, in case of a breakdown the risk of infection increases this poses the question; who is responsible for that. Computers cannot really replace human life in care giving. This is reflected by the fact that human and computers have not really been able to communicate well. The introduction of robots to work alongside care givers rather than completely replacing the caregivers is one measure that should be taken as it will give security and also it will assure patients that they are in safe hands if a breakdown of the robots occurs (Zacharia & Geelen 2013). Also more advanced robots that can interact well without posing a problem to the human race should be introduced. This will increase the confidence of human beings without feeling like their human rights are being infringed. Also in provision of care to the elderly by caregivers the robots also should be introduced in line with humans. This will help to assure the elderly that they are part of society and the efficient health provided by the robots will also be assured. Conclusion Introduction of robotics in the health industry has booth its advantages and disadvantages. Robots are viewed to be very effective and that they can be used to reduce human error. They are most effective in surgeries where the risk of trembling of the human hand bringing dire effects of wrong cutting area reduced. They can also be fast therefore saving a lot of lives. Robots can also be used in Quarantined areas where diseases that are highly contagious are. This will work to reduce the risk of medical practitioners being infected by the same diseases. Robots can also be very effective in treatment of malignant cancer by rays as they will not be affected by the rays. They are also important as they can be used to reduce the cost of healthcare. They also come with their disadvantages as they do not have souls therefore cannot replace the emotions portrayed by human beings. They also are not perfect as they rely greatly on their maker and the commands they are given. This can create a scenario where human life is not secured therefore bring fear to the patients. Mechanical failures may also occur in the process of surgery and this may be fatal. Despite all this the introduction of robots are here to stay political and legal issues will always arise but the great thing in this case is how they are used. References Borenstein, J. (January 01, 2012). Robotics, Ethics, and the Environment. International Journal of Technoethics (ijt), 3, 2, 17-29. Chachibaia, T. (January 01, 2012). Strategy and Policy Issues Related to Nanotechnology Innovations in Medical Education. Saner, M. A., & Geelen, J. A. (January 01, 2013). Identity in a Technological Society. Singer, P. W. (2009). Wired for war: The robotics revolution and conflict in the twenty-first century. New York: Penguin Press. Bos, L., & International Council on Medical and Care Compunetics. (2011). Handbook of digital homecare: Successes and failures. Berlin: Springer. Geraci, R. M. (2010). Apocalyptic AI. New York: Oxford University Press. Zacharia, M. A., & Geelen, J. A. (January 01, 2013). Identity in a Technological Society. Read More