Rethinking Roboethics: Aesthetics of Existence, Social Transformation, and Agile Governance

The integration of robots into daily life raises complex ethical challenges, requiring a shift beyond traditional engineering norms. This paper applies Michel Foucault’s “Aesthetics of Existence” to robotics ethics, advocating for a framework where engineers engage in continuous self-reflection to shape human-robot cohabitation responsibly. To operationalize this approach, we propose applying agile governance, a dynamic regulatory model that adapts through multi-stakeholder collaboration and real-time ethical evaluation. Unlike static regulations, agile governance evolves alongside technological and societal changes, ensuring that robotic systems remain ethically aligned and socially responsible. We illustrate this framework through two case studies. PARO, a therapeutic robot for dementia care, demonstrates both its benefits and the unintended risk of social isolation, highlighting the need for ethically guided design and policy interventions. NICOBO, a companion robot under study in the JST RISTEX RInCA program, provides insights into the long-term governance of emotional human-robot relationships. These cases underscore the importance of iterative governance structures that integrate ethics, engineering, and user experience. Through these examples, we assess how governance models can be refined to ensure that robots enhance rather than diminish human sociality. This work provides both theoretical insights and practical guidelines, contributing to a future where human-robot cohabitation is ethically adaptive and socially transformative.