Principle 01
Human safety comes first
Human safety, dignity, and bodily integrity must remain the first condition of human–robot coexistence.
Public reference framework
Human-Robot Coexistence Guidelines
Public reference principles for responsible coexistence between humans, robots, and intelligent machines.
These guidelines provide a public reference framework for thinking about safety, responsibility, dignity, labor, and shared social space as robots become more present in human environments.
Purpose
A shared framework for coexistence
The Human-Robot Coexistence Guidelines are an Institute initiative that synthesizes work on Robot Rights, Robot Governance, and Robot Labor into public principles for everyday, institutional, and workplace coexistence.
Their role is to provide a clear public reference for discussion, research, and future development across multiple social contexts.
Core principles
Ten principles for human–robot coexistence
These principles focus on human safety, visible robot roles, traceable responsibility, public legitimacy, worker voice, and ongoing review.
Principle 02
Robot roles should be visible and understandable
People should be able to understand what role a robot plays, what it is allowed to do, and who is responsible for its presence.
Principle 03
Responsibility must remain traceable
No robotic system should be deployed in a way that makes responsibility disappear.
Principle 04
Human override and review should be available
Where robotic systems affect people’s movement, work, care, safety, or access to services, human override or review should be available.
Principle 05
Coexistence should respect human rhythm
Human–robot coexistence should not require humans to live or work entirely according to machine rhythm.
Principle 06
Workers should have a voice in robotic deployment
Workers should have a meaningful voice in how robotic systems are introduced, evaluated, adjusted, and governed.
Principle 07
Public space requires public legitimacy
Robots in public or shared spaces require not only technical safety, but also social legitimacy.
Principle 08
Data and observation boundaries should be clear
People should know when robotic systems observe, record, classify, or transmit information about them.
Principle 09
Vulnerable people require special care
Robotic systems used around children, older adults, patients, or people with disabilities require heightened care, transparency, and accountability.
Principle 10
Coexistence should be continuously reviewed
Human–robot coexistence should be reviewed over time as technologies, environments, risks, and social expectations change.
Application contexts
Where the guidelines may apply
Human–robot coexistence is not limited to one industry. The same principles may become relevant wherever robots enter shared human environments.
Workplaces
Factories, warehouses, offices, service sites, and other environments where robots reshape work and supervision.
Public spaces
Stations, streets, airports, stores, hotels, and other shared spaces where robots affect movement and trust.
Care and health
Hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation settings, and care environments involving dependency and heightened responsibility.
Education
Schools, learning centers, and training contexts where robotic systems interact with children and learners.
Homes
Domestic settings where robots enter intimate, private, and everyday spaces.
Service environments
Restaurants, reception areas, retail spaces, and facilities where robots perform visible service roles.
Relation to research programs
A synthesis of three research areas
The guidelines draw from the Institute’s three formal research programs while remaining a public reference initiative.
Robot Rights
Provides the language of recognition, status, symbolic protection, and future moral imagination.
Robot Rights researchRobot Governance
Provides the language of responsibility, oversight, public legitimacy, deployment, and institutional design.
Robot Governance researchRobot Labor
Provides the language of work, human rhythm, worker voice, value distribution, and machine-centered organization.
Robot Labor researchInstitute initiatives
View related initiatives
The guidelines sit alongside protocol-oriented and stewardship initiatives within the Institute’s wider public reference structure.