Dolores and Robot Sex: Fragments of Non-anthropocentric Ethics

The new generation of sex robots raises questions about a potential moral responsibility by human beings toward robots. In our paper, we develop a pathocentric approach to normative ethics that goes beyond the mere well-being of human beings by searching for a broader perspective that includes a morality towards objects. First, we demonstrate that the moral line between living beings (e.g. human beings, animals) and objects is much blurrier than it seems and relate these general considerations back to the issue of robot sex. We then discuss possible consequences of our approach, outlining in particular ideas on how sex robots will change our social norms. We argue that the influence robots can have on our norms does not only concern our perception of them, but also of ourselves.