El Dr. Luciano Floridi es uno de los pensadores contemporáneos más influyentes. Considerado el fundador de la filosofía de la información y uno de los principales intérpretes de la revolución digital, es fundador del Centro de Ética Digital de la Universidad de Yale (Estados Unidos) y profesor John K. Castle de Práctica de la Ciencia Cognitiva en esa misma institución. Además, también enseña Sociología de la Cultura y la Comunicación en la Universidad de Bolonia (Italia).
Robots have quickly moved from science fiction into factories and everyday life. This digital transformation offers enormous benefits, from higher productivity to improved safety, but it also raises urgent ethical and societal questions. Public discourse swings between utopian visions of effortless prosperity and dystopian anxieties about intelligent machines replacing or even overpowering humans. The scale and speed of this transformation are unmatched.
According to the International Federation of Robotics (2024), in 2023, a record 4.3 million industrial robots were operating in factories worldwide, representing a 10% increase from 2022 and nearly double the operational stock of 2016. Asia remains the centre of this “automation race”, accounting for 70% of new robot installations in 2023, with China alone responsible for 51% of global demand. These trends suggest that adopting robotics is not just an economic trend but a key part of national industrial strategies, aimed at boosting competitiveness, securing supply chains through “nearshoring”, and projecting geopolitical influence (IFR, 2024).
Amid this rapid technological and geopolitical change, a scientifically sound and humanistic perspective that prioritises human values, dignity, well-being, and sustainability can help us maximise the benefits of these technologies while reducing risks. The aim here is clear: to argue that only a human-centric, ethically informed approach can ensure robotics and AI serve society, and to outline how such an approach can be put into practice, not by indulging science-fiction fears, but by addressing real impacts and opportunities.
Real challenges versus science-fiction fears
Our urgent ethical challenges are more practical and immediate than Hollywood stories of “rogue AI”. Focusing on speculative superintelligence distracts from current issues irresponsibly and risks overlooking real opportunities to steer existing technologies towards the public good. Most robots are industrial machines that perform pre-programmed or narrowly defined tasks, not human-like androids. The real problems involve their predictable impact on work, safety, rights, and security/power.
Workforce impacts, skills, and digital labour rights
A primary concern is the impact of automation on employment and job quality. While robots can replace specific tasks, comprehensive studies show that the narrative of mass unemployment is a misleading oversimplification at best. Early studies revealed that very few occupations (less than 5%) are fully automatable, even though roughly 60% of jobs have at least 30% of their tasks that could be automated (Manyika et al., 2017). However, recent AI advances have increased these estimates. A mid-2023 McKinsey analysis suggests that by 2030, up to 30% of hours worked in the United States could be automated, indicating significant task displacement but still relatively few jobs entirely eliminated (Ellingrud et al., 2023). Likewise, on average, 27% of jobs across OECD countries are in occupations at high risk of automation, based on recent OECD findings (OECD, 2023).
This shift in outlook reinforces the importance of focusing on worker augmentation and managing workforce transitions through skilling, reskilling, and upskilling, rather than assuming mass unemployment (Ellingrud et al., 2023; OECD, 2025). According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, global employment is projected to grow by a net 78 million jobs by 2030, driven by the creation of 170 million new roles and the displacement of 92 million roles between 2025 and 2030. Employers surveyed expect 39% of workers’ core skills will change by 2030, identifying skill gaps as the most significant barrier to business transformation (World Economic Forum, 2025).
Ethical automation encompasses not only skills and training policies but also workplace right—transparency, explainability, and recourse for workers affected by automated decision-making
At the same time, algorithmic management—using AI to assign, monitor, and evaluate work—presents distinct risks to worker autonomy, privacy, and fairness. Directive (EU) 2024/2831 on improving working conditions in platform work introduced new rights to transparency, contestability of automated decisions, and stronger data protection for platform workers (European Union, 2024). It established a right to human review of significant automated decisions (such as account suspension) and bans the processing of specific sensitive data, signalling a clear regulatory expectation of human oversight and due process in AI-mediated workplaces (European Union, 2024).
Broader analyses by institutions such as the European Parliament, the International Labour Organization, and the OECD consistently highlight the importance of ensuring that digital tools support rather than undermine job quality. Therefore, ethical automation encompasses not only skills and training policies but also workplace rights—transparency, explainability, and recourse for workers affected by automated decision-making.
Safety, standards, and liability
As robots increasingly operate in shared workplaces and public spaces, safety and accountability must be non-negotiable. This includes rigorous standards for collaborative robots (co-bots) and clear legal frameworks for accountability if an autonomous system malfunctions or causes harm. In Europe, two legislative pillars create an interconnected framework for safety and liability. First, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on Machinery updates and replaces the previous Machinery Directive, establishing new safety requirements for the entire lifecycle of machinery, with specific provisions for AI-enabled systems, cybersecurity, and substantial modifications (European Union, 2023). It will become fully applicable on 20 January 2027.
Second, the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) established the world’s first comprehensive, riskbased framework for AI systems (European Union, 2024b). This law imposes strict obligations on “high-risk” AI (e.g., advanced robotics in healthcare, transport, etc.), including mandatory risk assessments, human oversight, transparency, and data governance measures. Taken together, these measures translate “pro-ethical design” into enforceable law, strengthening public trust and clarifying responsibilities among manufacturers, deployers, and operators.
Privacy and security
Digitalisation and robotics often involve complex networks of sensors, cameras, and connectivity. From autonomous vehicles mapping urban environments to service robots managing health data, these machines can gather large amounts of sensitive information. Safeguarding personal data and preventing unlawful surveillance or misuse are ethical priorities, as is strengthening systems against cyberattacks that could cause physical harm or data breaches. We just saw that regulatory developments in the EU now explicitly connect AI governance with product safety. In this case too, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (the Machinery Regulation) jointly require a set of practical measures for privacy, safety, and accountability, including risk management, data governance, activity logging, and mandatory human oversight for high-risk systems.
Misuse and weaponisation
Like other powerful technologies, robotics can be misused for harmful purposes. The issue of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) is a critical global concern in military ethics and international law, intensified by the development and deployment of LAWS in recent and ongoing conflicts, including in Ukraine and Gaza. On 2 December 2024, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted Resolution 79/62 on LAWS, with 166 states in favour, 3 against, and 15 abstentions. The resolution endorses a two-tier approach: it urges an international instrument that categorically bans specific autonomous weapons (those deemed unacceptable) while regulating other AI-enabled weapons under existing international law and human oversight requirements.
Similarly, the International Committee of the Red Cross advocates for a two-tier approach involving prohibitions and regulations. These developments reinforce a global ethical boundary: autonomous targeting and the deployment of force must remain under human control. The key ethical challenge here is to establish clear prohibitions and regulations ensuring that automation respects human rights, humanitarian principles, and the public interest.
Ethical design and principles
Clearly, a broad consensus is emerging that robotics and AI should be developed and used within a clear ethical framework. This view is reflected in high-level policy initiatives, especially the European Commission’s Industry 5.0 framework, which articulates a sustainable, human-centred, and resilient vision for European industry (European Commission, 2022). Industry 5.0 builds on Industry 4.0’s narrow focus on efficiency by explicitly integrating societal and environmental goals in industrial transformation, embedding values such as dignity, sustainability, and well-being in innovation strategies. A proactive commitment from the robotics industry itself increasingly mirrors this policy-driven, humanistic vision. A prime example is the Barcelona Declaration on Robotics and Automation, a joint pledge signed in May 2025 by five major international industry associations: IFR, A3 (USA), Odense Robotics (Denmark), VDMA Robotics and Automation (Germany), and AER Automation (Spain). This declaration commits the robotics industry worldwide to a “resilient, competitive, sustainable and human-centric” industrial vision, and establishes a common framework to advance four strategic pillars: (1) competitive, resilient automation; (2) talent attraction and continuous learning for workers; (3) open, ethical innovation aligned with societal values; and (4) environmental sustainability and social well-being as guiding goals (AER Automation, 2025).
The actual risk does not lie in robots developing a mind of their own, but in us—through shortsightedness, neglect, or unethical choices—failing to guide our powerful technologies towards positive and equitable ends
The core principles of Industry 5.0, now influencing strategies beyond Europe, foster a cohesive, humanistic vision for the future of industry. This vision is implemented through strategic policy frameworks, such as the European Commission’s coordinated plan on Artificial Intelligence, which commits to a “resilient, competitive, sustainable, and human-centred” approach to AI and robotics based on four key pillars of action.
- Enhancing industrial competitiveness and resilience through intelligent automation. Robotics should increase productivity and foster innovation, ensuring competitiveness in a volatile global market. Postpandemic supply chain vulnerabilities have led to nearshoring and regionalisation, with automation acting as a key to resilience. These trends are documented in the IFR’s recent market analyses (European Commission, 2022; International Federation of Robotics, 2024).
- Supporting talent attraction and development. A humanistic approach recognises that human capital is as crucial as technological capital. Continuous learning, STEM education, and comprehensive upskilling programmes are essential to ensure that the workforce evolves alongside automation. The goal is to empower workers by harnessing technology to enhance skills and create more meaningful, higher-value roles, in line with Industry 5.0 and reflected in global policy discussions (European Commission, 2022; World Economic Forum, 2025).
- Promoting ethical and open innovation. Robotics and AI should be developed transparently, respecting fundamental rights. An open innovation ecosystem— comprising industry, academia, government, and civil society—ensures that diverse perspectives shape technology for social good. Pro-ethical guidelines must be integrated from the outset. Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act) now operationalises many of these principles for high-risk AI, while the OECD AI Principles (released in 2019 and updated in 2024) and UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021) provide convergent international benchmarks for trustworthy, human-centred AI (European Union, 2024b; OECD, 2019, 2024; UNESCO, 2021).
- Fostering sustainability and social well-being. Automation should support broader environmental and social goals, aligning with frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Robotics already plays a crucial role in expanding green technologies—from solar and battery manufacturing to fuel-cell production—while also enabling precision agriculture and environmental monitoring. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reports that robotics is contributing, in concrete ways, to 13 of the 17 United Nations SDGs, from climate action to elder care and personalised education (International Federation of Robotics, 2024b). For example, robots enable advances in clean energy, precision agriculture, and sustainable industrial innovation, aligning automation with global sustainability targets. In essence, robotics should serve as a tool for sustainable development, enhancing the quality of life (European Commission, 2022).
A key aspect of this vision is strengthened cooperation across sectors—connecting companies, governments, research institutions, and worker representatives—based on the understanding that success requires joint and coordinated actions. By establishing shared ethical principles and common goals, Industry 5.0 helps ensure that responsibility and purpose guide advances in robotics and AI. How we approach automation is as significant as what we automate.
Benefits and opportunities
Taking an ethical approach is not a barrier to innovation. On the contrary, it unlocks the full potential of automation for humanity. Guided by humanistic principles, robotics and AI can enhance well-being and help address societal challenges, counteracting doomsday narratives, in at least three areas.
Augmenting human labour and productivity
Ethical automation emphasises collaboration between humans and machines. Robots excel at tedious, repetitive, and hazardous tasks, allowing human workers to focus on creative and relational activities. Research shows that robots increase productivity and can support net job creation through new demands and industries. The IFR has concluded that robots mainly complement rather than replace human labour, handling specific tasks instead of entire jobs, and that new roles consistently develop around the deployment of robotics and AI.
While early analyses suggested only a small percentage of jobs were fully automatable, the current focus is on the large share of tasks within nearly all jobs that can be augmented or automated, leading to a shift in roles rather than total elimination. Meanwhile, we saw that large-scale surveys predict significant changes in tasks. Achieving these benefits requires ensuring that workers share in the productivity gains through education and training, fair wage growth, and social policies that facilitate transitions. In practice, advanced economies adopting more robots have often improved global competitiveness and, at times, stimulated reshoring of manufacturing, protecting and creating domestic jobs that might otherwise have moved overseas (International Federation of Robotics, 2024).
Enhancing safety and work quality
One of the most immediate advantages of automation is reducing the risk to humans. Robots are particularly suited for “3D” jobs—the dirty, dangerous, and difficult tasks—that put people at physical risk. A comprehensive study found that increased exposure to robots significantly reduces workplace injuries. In the U.S., a one-standard-deviation increase in robot exposure correlates with about 1.2 fewer injuries per 100 workers annually (Gihleb et al., 2022). The same research revealed a concerning trade-off: regions in the U.S. with higher robot exposure also experience higher rates of drug/ alcohol-related deaths and mental health issues, probably linked to economic anxiety and labour-market pressures. Notably, the authors did not observe similar mental health impacts in Germany, indicating that labour institutions and social safety nets influence these effects (Gihleb et al., 2022).
A more recent study by two of the same authors (Giuntella et al., 2025), focusing on AI exposure (a broader category than just industrial robots) in Germany over two decades, found no evidence of substantial negative impacts on workers’ mental health, and even noted slight improvements in workers’ physical health, although AI-exposed workers did report lower job and life satisfaction. These results highlight the importance of pairing technological advances with comprehensive social policies, such as mental health support and just transitions. Beyond safety, automating routine tasks can also improve job satisfaction. For instance, in healthcare, assistive robots, such as those for patient lifting or autonomous disinfection, can reduce physical strain on nurses and hospital staff, thereby helping to prevent injuries and burnout. When used responsibly, robotics already shows significant value for workplace quality.
An ethical framework, outlined by Industry 5.0, supported by regulations such as the EU AI Act, and exemplified by the Barcelona Declaration, can steer innovation towards benefiting the common good
Advancing social and environmental goals
Aligned with ethical principles, robotics and AI are vital tools for tackling major global challenges and supporting the green transition. They enable the scale and cost reductions required to manufacture solar panels, batteries, and hydrogen fuel cells; they also enhance resource efficiency in agriculture and environmental management. The broader lesson is clear: the impact of technology depends on how we choose to use it; a humanistic approach requires deliberate alignment between advanced innovations and core values.
Conclusion
Robotics, automation, and digitalisation are driving a new industrial revolution. Like previous transformations, this one brings both disruption and opportunity. A humanistic and ethical perspective encourages us to shape this revolution actively rather than passively endure it. We must move beyond the oversimplified idea of a “fixed number of jobs available” and the “robots versus humans” narrative. Instead, we should recognise that the real challenge is how humans and robots will coexist and complement each other within society.
By prioritising human and environmental well-being, we can ensure that technology serves us, rather than controls us. An ethical framework—outlined by Industry 5.0, supported by regulations such as the EU AI Act, and exemplified by the Barcelona Declaration—can steer innovation towards benefiting the common good. This involves balancing realistic risk assessment with an optimistic pursuit of benefits. Achieving this vision is possible but requires collaboration among engineers, policymakers, businesses, workers, and ethicists: integrating pro-ethical design; updating liability, safety, and data-protection regulations; preparing the workforce for future jobs through education and reskilling; ensuring transparency and voice for workers in algorithms; fostering public dialogue to build trust; and cooperating internationally under shared principles (OECD, 2019, 2024; UNESCO, 2021).
We must be careful to avoid both reckless hype and unwarranted fear. The actual risk does not lie in robots developing a mind of their own, but in us—through shortsightedness, neglect, or unethical choices—failing to guide our powerful technologies towards positive and equitable ends. The future of AI and robotics demands foresight, care, and a profound sense of our shared humanity. Our challenge is not purely technological but human: ensuring our values shape the machines we create. If done well, we can foster an era of automation where no one is left behind, human dignity remains central, and our environment thrives. As they say, ‘where there is a will, there is a way’.
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