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The rise of robots in the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for public management

In: Research Handbook on Public Management and COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Helen Dickinson
  • Catherine Smith

Abstract

While robots and automation technologies in public services are not new, we saw a significant expansion of the use of these within the COVID-19 pandemic. Robots cannot contract COVID-19 or transmit it so they were seen as having the potential to restrict the need for person-to-person contact and slow the spread of COVID-19 as well as fill some workforce gaps where individuals are unable to work. While there are a number of positives here, the use of robots is not without challenges and it raises a number of practical and ethical challenges. In this chapter we explore how robots have been used in the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges that their use may raise for public management and public managers. In this chapter we focus on three areas, policy capacity, workforce implications and ethics.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen Dickinson & Catherine Smith, 2024. "The rise of robots in the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for public management," Chapters, in: Helen Dickinson & Sophie Yates & Janine O’Flynn & Catherine Smith (ed.), Research Handbook on Public Management and COVID-19, chapter 22, pages 286-298, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:elg:eechap:21210_22
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    File URL: https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781802205954.00031
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