Outputs: Research Articles
Biohybrid robotics and the case for boundary ethics (2026)
Biohybrid robotics and the case for boundary ethics
Mestre, R. & Astakhov, S. (2026) ‘Biohybrid robotics and the case for boundary ethics.’ in Initial. Barla, J., & Tamborini, M. (ed.), Living Techno-Natures: Biohybrid Objects, Life, and Technology. Routledge. Available at: doi.org/10.4324/9781003568568-9
This chapter examines the ethical, social, and conceptual challenges posed by biohybrid robotics, a field that integrates living tissues with artificial components to create hybrid systems. Existing ethical frameworks—ranging from Jonas’ responsibility ethics to biocentric and ecocentric approaches—struggle to accommodate the ontological ambiguity of entities that are neither wholly biological nor purely technological. Socio-political analyses highlight that these robots are not neutral artifacts but embody power relations and disciplinary hierarchies, while posthumanist perspectives foreground interdependence and decentering of the human. Yet the profound dependence of biohybrid robots on human intervention complicates notions of agency and autonomy. To address these tensions, the chapter proposes the concept of boundary ethics: a flexible, context-sensitive framework that draws on sociological concepts of trade zones and boundary objects to negotiate ethical responsibility across disciplines. Boundary ethics is presented not as a universal model but as an orientation that emphasizes ecological awareness, interdisciplinary negotiation, graded moral consideration, weak anthropocentrism, and care. The chapter concludes by outlining practical steps for embedding ethical deliberation early in the development of biohybrid robotics, ensuring that this emerging field evolves in alignment with democratic values, social justice, and ecological responsibility.
Policy Report: Biohybrid Robotics: Emergence, Regulation and Consequence (2026)
Biohybrid Robotics: Emergence, Regulation and Consequence
Afzal, A. B., Cook. I. J., Astakhov, S., Ryan, M., & Mestre, R. (2026). Biohybrid Robotics: Emergence, Regulation and Consequence [Policy Note] v. 1.0. University of Southampton. https://zenodo.org/records/22735134.
This policy note sets out the scope of the emerging technology of ‘biohybrid robotics’ and makes the case for an anticipatory regulatory framework which maximises the likelihood of the emerging applications having a positive societal impact and mitigates against potential risks. To highlight the necessity of specific governance of biohybrid robotics, we first discuss the existing landscape of relevant regulations which are fragmented and non-specific. We then forecast the potential positive and negative societal implications of the emerging technology, highlighting the opportunities but also the consequences of unregulated dual-use applications. Finally, we summarise findings from a stakeholder policy workshop in which we facilitated discussions on the practical implementation of regulatory frameworks, and the necessity of building public trust alongside biohybrid robotic emergence.
Future Ethics. Principles for Governing Bio-Hybrid Robotics in a Post-biological World (2026)
Future Ethics. Principles for Governing Bio-Hybrid Robotics in a Post-biological World
Astobiza, A.M., Astakhov, S., Mestre, R. (2026). Future Ethics. Principles for Governing Bio-Hybrid Robotics in a Post-biological World. In: Jiménez Rodríguez, A., et al. Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2025. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 15582. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-07448-5_45
Bio-hybrid robotics—systems integrating living tissues with artificial mechanisms—challenge conventional ethical frameworks due to their ontological ambiguity and technological novelty. While some argue that ethics is either unnecessary or impossible in this domain—due to axiological pluralism, instrumentalist views of technology, or epistemic uncertainty—this paper rejects such deflationary positions. We argue that ethical governance in bio-hybrid robotics is both feasible and necessary, and that it can be grounded in a naturalistic theory of normativity informed by the evolution of cooperation in Homo sapiens. Drawing on game theory and the logic of collective action, we show that ethical failure in this domain is best understood as a problem of coordination under uncertainty: actors (researchers, institutions, and society) may endorse ethical principles privately, yet fail to act on them without common knowledge and mutual assurance. Using historical (chemical weapons, atomic research) and contemporary (CRISPR, generative AI) case studies, we demonstrate the consequences of ethical fragmentation and propose mechanisms for establishing shared ethical expectations, including public commitments, ethical observatories, and interoperable governance infrastructures. To avoid both ethical paralysis and ethical monoculture, we advocate for a model of pluralistic coordination grounded in evolutionary accounts of norm emergence and cognitive capacities for joint intentionality. Ethics, in this view, is not an external constraint but an infrastructural condition for responsible innovation. We use the term “post-biological” in the title not to imply the end of biology, but to signal a transition to systems in which biology is engineered, embedded, and functionally reconfigured in non-natural contexts.
Ethics and Responsibility in Biohybrid Robotics Research: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) (2024)
Ethics and Responsibility in Biohybrid Robotics Research: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Mestre, R., Astobiza, A. M., Webster-Wood, V. A., Ryan, M., & Saif, M. T. A. (2024). Ethics and responsibility in biohybrid robotics research. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(31), e2310458121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2310458121.
Abstract: The industrial revolution of the 19th century marked the onset of an era of machines and robots that transformed societies. Since the beginning of the 21st century, a new generation of robots envisions similar societal transformation. These robots are biohybrid: part living and part engineered. They may self-assemble and emerge from complex interactions between living cells. While this new era of living robots presents unprecedented opportunities for positive societal impact, it also poses a host of ethical challenges. A systematic, nuanced examination of these ethical issues is of paramount importance to guide the evolution of this nascent field. Multidisciplinary fields face the challenge that inertia around collective action to address ethical boundaries may result in unexpected consequences for researchers and societies alike.
Review Paper: Biohybrid robotics: from the nanoscale to the macroscale – Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs) (2021)
Review Paper: Biohybrid robotics: from the nanoscale to the macroscale – Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs)
Biohybrid robotics: from the nanoscale to the macroscale. R Mestre, T Patiño & S Sánchez, 2021, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, 13(5), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1002/wnan.1703.
Abstract: Biohybrid robotics combines biological entities with artificial materials to achieve enhanced performance or unique features challenging to replicate with synthetic materials. Integration occurs at three scales: nanoscale, microscale, and macroscale. At the nanoscale, enzymes catalyze biocompatible reactions, powering self-propelled nanoparticles for biomedical uses such as drug delivery. At the microscale, whole cells like bacteria or spermatozoa replace enzymes, leveraging their motility for cargo transport, drug delivery, in vitro fertilization, or biofilm removal. At the macroscale, tissues comprising millions of cells, such as cardiac or skeletal muscle, enable biorobotic devices powered by tissue contractions. These untethered systems mimic crawling or swimming, while ongoing advancements aim to integrate various tissue types for more realistic biomimetic devices. Tethered bioactuators, on the other hand, excel as tissue models for drug screening or studying muscle disorders due to their three-dimensional structure.
Working paper: Biohybrid robotics as a fragmented frontier of biopolitics
Working paper: Biohybrid robotics as a fragmented frontier of biopolitics
The paper in progress examines the emerging field of tissue-based biohybrid robotics within the context of biopolitics. Biohybrid robotics combines living tissues with synthetic components to create robots with unique capabilities, such as artificial stingrays, jellyfish, and xenobots. These models are fragile, short-lived, and reliant on specialized laboratory environments, reflecting the nascent and fragmented state of the field. The research highlights the lack of standardization in biohybrid robotics and introduces the concept of a “fragmentary frontier” to describe its development and challenges. We argue that while biohybrid research does not redefine life itself, it produces isolated, specialised systems that address specific technological and biomedical questions, connecting these innovations to broader biopolitical discussions.
Working paper: Actor-network deliberation
Working paper: Actor-network deliberation
The paper in progress explores the ethical challenges of emerging technologies, using biohybrid robotics as a case study to demonstrate the feasibility and necessity of ethical evaluation despite the crisis of expertise. Biohybrid robotics is categorized into bottom-up and top-down design paradigms, emphasising its interdisciplinary nature and reliance on diverse fields such as biology and engineering. We examine two approaches from Science and Technology Studies (STS)—Studies of Expertise and Experience (SEE) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT)—arguing that ANT is better suited to address the complexity of biohybrid robotics due to its focus on networks of human and nonhuman actors. The paper proposes using ANT and deliberative methods, including stakeholder and issue mapping, to conceptualize biohybrid robotics as a ‘network of expertise.’ This approach integrates diverse perspectives, addressing ethical concerns and fostering the responsible development of emerging technologies.