A critique of robotics in health care

When the social relevance of robotic applications is addressed today, the use of assistive technology in care settings is almost always the first example. So-called care robots are presented as a solution to the nursing crisis, despite doubts about their technological readiness and the lack of concr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AI & society 2022-06, Vol.37 (2), p.467-477
Main Authors: Maibaum, Arne, Bischof, Andreas, Hergesell, Jannis, Lipp, Benjamin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Analysis
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Science
Control
Engineering Economics
Health care
Innovations
Logistics
Marketing
Mechatronics
Methodology of the Social Sciences
Nurses
Nursing
Organization
Original Article
Performing Arts
Robotics
Robotics industry
Robots
Technology application
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Summary:When the social relevance of robotic applications is addressed today, the use of assistive technology in care settings is almost always the first example. So-called care robots are presented as a solution to the nursing crisis, despite doubts about their technological readiness and the lack of concrete usage scenarios in everyday nursing practice. We inquire into this interconnection of social robotics and care. We show how both are made available for each other in three arenas: innovation policy, care organization, and robotic engineering. First, we analyze the discursive “logics” of care robotics within European innovation policy, second, we disclose how care robotics is encountering a historically grown conflict within health care organization, and third we show how care scenarios are being used in robotic engineering. From this diagnosis, we derive a threefold critique of robotics in healthcare, which calls attention to the politics, historicity, and social situatedness of care robotics in elderly care.
ISSN:0951-5666
1435-5655
DOI:10.1007/s00146-021-01206-z