"Ensuring that human rights are strengthened and not undermined by artificial intelligence is one of the key factors that will define the world we live in", says Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, in a Recommendation published today. This Recommendation – entitled "Unboxing artificial intelligence: 10 steps to protect human rights" – provides a number of steps which national authorities can take to maximise the potential of artificial intelligence systems and prevent or mitigate the negative impact they may have on people's lives and rights. The Recommendation also contains an annexed checklist to help implement the measures recommended in each key area. "Artificial intelligence driven technology is entering more aspects of every individual's life, from smart home appliances to social media applications, and it is increasingly being utilised by public authorities to evaluate people's personality or skills, allocate resources, and otherwise make decisions that can have real and serious consequences for the human rights of individuals. Finding the right balance between technological development and human rights protection is therefore an urgent matter", says Commissioner Mijatović.

Currently the world is rapidly developing robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. These technologies offer enormous potential benefits, yet there are also drawbacks and dangers. Using the Ethics Center's Framework for Ethical Decision Making, we can consider some of the ethical issues involved with Robots and AI. Utilitarianism is a form of moral reasoning which emphasizes the consequences of actions. Typically it tries to maximize happiness and minimize suffering, though there are other ways to use utilitarian evaluation such as cost-benefit analysis.