Abstract

This case study on the use of robotic and AI systems in care work contexts presents scenarios of the partial transfer of responsibility from (mostly non-professional) careworkers to machine entities. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of a non-representative sample of eight in-depth interviews with people nursing relatives at their homes, five scenarios are introduced that address different degrees of technologization in care ranging from purely human/manual care work to the integrated use of humanoid robots with AI support. The interviewees provide complex answers that outline varying concepts of everyday ethics pertaining to the use of digital and robotic systems in curative and nursing contexts. The results point at ethical challenges for people providing care work and deepen debates on gradual diffusions of responsibility.