Household robots and privacy

HERB (Home Exploring Robotic Butler) is a household robot that performs useful manipulation tasks in the home. HERB is much less advanced than the house-hold robots that we know from futuristic movies (for me, personally, the most famous example of a house-hold robot is Rosie from The Jetsons, capable of doing all the household chores and some of the parenting). The current version of HERB looks very simple, it is just an “intelligent” robotic arm fashioned to a mobile platform, but the robot is still under development by Intel. In “A robot in every home” Bill Gates compares the emergence of the robotics industry, which we can see nowadays, to the development of computer industry during the 1970s. He has no doubts that in the future robots will play an impor­tant role in our lives. If his vision is fulfilled, different versions of household robots will be very common in the future.
The home was always considered to be a private area. Therefore, in my opinion, the use of household robots, similar to HERB, would have very strong privacy implications. Household robots will be a new guest in the house, something that may become eventually a family member or remain a stranger. They may have both, positive and negative implications. About the negative implications I will write more below. Regarding the positive ones, I believe that the robots will cause humans to behave better, for example, an aggressive husband knowing a household robot is near will hold back from beating his wife or shouting, as he would be aware that the information about this event could be stored in HERB’s memory.
I have no doubts that robots such as HERB, in order to perform their duties well and optimize their functionality, will have to store large amounts of data about the house (for example precise house plan or detailed list of items in the house). Moreover, it will be not only collecting and storing the data but also transferring it within internal or external network. Advanced versions of the robot may be even capable of learning its owner habits, and be programmed to act totally independently, without any orders. I am sure that between the data stored and transmitted by household robots there will be very specific data revealing private, sensitive information about householders. Just by observing what people do, and listening to what they say (the robot will have to listen as humans can give HERB comments using voice), HERB will be capable of obtaining information about, for example, political views, religious beliefs, physical or mental health or sexual life. Moreover, a household robot may also be capable of collecting very untypical data about events that ordinary humans cannot sense such as electromagnetic field and cross-referencing those data with other he store (for example, it may make an analysis that its owner after working in strong electromagnetic field is much more tired than normally and suggest working in another place).
It is possible that HERB will be capable of obtaining personal information about householders not only by listening but also by advanced interactions with humans. Although HERB lacks features that anthropomorphize it, the robot is able to understand verbal commands and gesticulate which might affect in social responses from people. In the future, the household robot, with more anthropomorphic qualities such as face, eyes, voice and gestures, might be able to socialize with householders, be their friend and confidant. It raises some serious threats such as a possibility of psychological attacks. An attacker, after gaining access to the robot, can potentially exploit a bond between the robot and its owner and then, by manipulating robot, cause psychological damage to its owner (using lies, blackmail etc.).
However, as I have already mentioned, it will be important how household members are treating household robots. Some people will never befriend the robots as for them a robot may be nothing more but a useful toy or a stranger, something we will never fully know that, although very useful, makes us feel uncomfortable.
In this place it is worth to mention that in the future we may see a fast development of the “Internet of Things” and if it appears to be true, robots such as HERB may play an extremely significant role in our life. In the “Internet of Things” all items are equipped with miniature identifying devices, connected to a wireless network and are able to “talk” to each other. Each house forms a separate network of object, and HERB’s future might be as an administrator of such a network, a manager deciding what householders will eat, which items need to be replaced, where to clean etc. Very interesting situation will arise if a household robot will be connected not only to a house’s network but also to an external one and will be able to send information from the household outside. Nowadays, the law requires consent or a warrant before entry or internal surveillance of the house is possible. If HERB was connected to the external network (for example, Intel’s network), it would make lawful access to its owner house’s network technically possible. If the government would be allowed to access HERB’s sensors in real time, then we will be dealing with a serious threat to privacy, a new “Big Brother”, something that might be a first step on the way to a surveillance society.
There are several measures that can help us deal with an issue of protecting privacy in case of household robots. In my opinion, first of all, all data transferred within the household’s network should be strongly encrypted. Such solution, although not comprehensive, would make, for example, use of the robot’s audio-visual capabilities to obtain private data about a person more difficult. However, supported with a legislation which penalize actions such as an as interception of the household robot’s signal, can give some level of protection against the violation of a right to privacy.
Another solution worth considering may be an enactment of a law which establishes limits on anthropomorphizing robots (for example ban on equipping the robots with artificial skin or faces similar to human’s). A lack of features that anthropomorphize robot, will make establishing a physical bound with human harder. Therefore, household robots may collect less personal information about their owners.
Finally, the most important solution. As I have already mentioned, robots such as HERB for sure will be able to store in their digital memory information that are sometimes better forgotten. That is why, in my opinion, future household robots should be also obligatory programmed to forget. Each household robot should have a specialist software allowing its owner to erase robot’s memory. There should not be neither legal nor technical possibility to remove this software. Owners should be allowed to chose how often they want to erase household robot’s memory. I would also propose a default settings erasing robot’s memory, for example, every two years.
Lucas Introna called privacy a “nice to have” value, something that can easily be discarded. I am aware that household robots can make our life easier, but I hope that humans will eventually understand the consequences of discarding privacy in very special places, their own houses, and will demand implementation of solution that will sufficiently protect their privacy.