Editing Neuromorphic computing (section)

=== Social concerns ===
Significant ethical limitations may be placed on neuromorphic engineering due to public perception.<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://ai100.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj9861/f/ai_100_report_0831fnl.pdf|title=Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030: One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence |date=September 2016 |publisher=Stanford University|access-date=December 26, 2019|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530152437/https://ai100.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj9861/f/ai_100_report_0831fnl.pdf}}</ref> Special [[Eurobarometer]] 382: Public Attitudes Towards Robots, a survey conducted by the European Commission, found that 60% of [[European Union]] citizens wanted a ban of robots in the care of children, the elderly, or the disabled. Furthermore, 34% were in favor of a ban on robots in education, 27% in healthcare, and 20% in leisure. The European Commission classifies these areas as notably "human." The report cites increased public concern with robots that are able to mimic or replicate human functions. Neuromorphic engineering, by definition, is designed to replicate the function of the human brain.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/archives/ebs/ebs_382_en.pdf|title=Special Eurobarometer 382: Public Attitudes Towards Robots|last=European Commission|date=September 2012|website=European Commission}}</ref>

The social concerns surrounding neuromorphic engineering are likely to become even more profound in the future. The European Commission found that EU citizens between the ages of 15 and 24 are more likely to think of robots as human-like (as opposed to instrument-like) than EU citizens over the age of 55. When presented an image of a robot that had been defined as human-like, 75% of EU citizens aged 15–24 said it corresponded with the idea they had of robots while only 57% of EU citizens over the age of 55 responded the same way. The human-like nature of neuromorphic systems, therefore, could place them in the categories of robots many EU citizens would like to see banned in the future.<ref name=":1" />