Papers
14
Total Citations
611
H-Index
11
About
Peter Asaro is a pioneering scholar in robot ethics, autonomous weapons, and the legal and moral dimensions of artificial intelligence. His foundational 2006 paper, "What Should We Want From a Robot Ethic?" (160 citations) established a comprehensive tripartite framework for thinking about ethics in robotics — encompassing the moral design of robots, the responsibilities of their creators, and how humans relate to robotic systems. This work helped shape the emerging field of machine ethics and remains a touchstone for researchers and policymakers alike. Asaro's scholarship has consistently pushed into urgent, real-world territory. His influential examination of robot warfare, "How Just Could a Robot War Be?" (91 citations), interrogated whether autonomous military systems can satisfy the moral constraints governing armed conflict. He has continued this thread through work on autonomous weapons and algorithmic violence, engaging directly with United Nations policy processes around lethal autonomous weapons systems. His contributions to legal theory — particularly around liability, corporate personhood, and international humanitarian law — have helped bridge philosophy, computer science, and jurisprudence. With over 570 cumulative citations across his most recognized works, Asaro stands as an indispensable voice in debates over how humanity should govern the machines it creates.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1What Should We Want From a Robot Ethic?160 citations · 2006
- 2How Just Could a Robot War Be91 citations · 2007
- 3Machine Ethics and Robot Ethics75 citations · 2020
- 4A Body to Kick, but Still No Soul to Damn : Legal Perspectives on Robotics62 citations · 2012
- 5Algorithms of Violence: Critical Social Perspectives on Autonomous Weapons57 citations · 2019
- 6The Liability Problem for Autonomous Artificial Agents43 citations · 2016
- 7Modeling the moral user30 citations · 2009
- 8"Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!” HRI and the Automation of Police Use of Force27 citations · 2016
- 9Jus nascendi, robotic weapons and the Martens Clause17 citations · 2016
- 10Armed military robots: editorial16 citations · 2013