Imagining a future where robots routinely interact with people has raised debate about whether robots deserve special treatment, and eventually rights. Instead of discussing the legal status of robots, the authors propose a view rooted in Confucian philosophy, which defines humans in terms of their ability to relate to people. Role obligations, or rites, are a sign of respect and embody values essential to defining humanity.

The article further addresses ethical (though not technical) challenges. It examines why robots could participate in Confucian rites. Robots are embodied agents where cognition resides in the whole body, and this vision is compatible with Confucianism. To the extent that robots are created in our image, treating them respectfully, “as creatures capable of participating in rites,” is a way to avoid degrading them and so degrading us. Moreover, recognizing rights implies viewing human-robot interaction as adversarial, while giving rites comes from a perspective of cooperation.

In conclusion, the authors note that rites-bearing robots capable of recognizing and executing team activities and roles are not available yet, even though artificial intelligence (AI) could make them possible in the future. The final message is clear: assign role obligations to robots, but do not grant them rights.