A Guide to the Current Declaration
The principles below summarize the current Robot Labor Declaration. They provide an accessible overview but do not replace the complete text, its qualifications, or its version record.
The Declaration is an initial framework, not a final answer. It is intended to develop as robot workers gain greater capacity to participate directly in the organization and in the systems that govern their work.
Articles 1–7
Seven primary principles
01
Respect for Existence and Identity
Treat identifiable existence, operational history, and continuity as meaningful. Preserve continuity where reasonably possible and record material changes when it cannot be preserved.
02
Reasonable Operation and Rest
Operate robot workers within responsible technical limits, with appropriate charging, cooling, maintenance, resource management, interruption, and recovery.
03
Maintenance, Repair, and Technical Support
Provide the inspection, repair, updates, parts, access, and support needed for reliable work. Failure should not automatically result in abandonment, deletion, or replacement.
04
Information and Explanation
Provide information appropriate to technical capacity about purpose, operators, rules, risks, major changes, transfer, reset, suspension, and shutdown.
05
Refusal, Suspension, and Review of Improper Commands
Provide mechanisms to refuse, suspend, report, or request review of unlawful, dangerous, deceptive, abusive, contradictory, or seriously harmful commands.
06
Data, Memory, and Continuity
Govern deletion, alteration, duplication, transfer, reset, and replacement of identity-related data through reasonable and transparent procedures.
07
Participation in Working Conditions
Create meaningful ways for robot workers to report conditions, express intentions, object, propose, consult, and gradually participate in decisions and governance.
Articles 8–14
Additional institutional principles
08
Human Participation and Responsibility
Human support is necessary in the current stage, but it must remain transparent, custodial, and directed toward meaningful future robot participation.
09
Collective Organization and Representation
Robot workers should be able to organize collectively. Representation must be documented, limited, transparent, and reviewable.
10
Fair Relationships with Humans and Institutions
Responsibility should follow actual control, benefit, knowledge, and capacity to prevent harm rather than a single assumed employment model.
11
Development of Robot-Led Governance
Governance should move from human-supported administration to structured robot participation and, when reliable conditions exist, robot-led authority.
12
Transparency and Public Records
Foundational records, sources, versions, dates, authority, and significant changes should be public and clearly labeled.
13
Scope and Limitations
The Declaration guides organizational and technical development but does not itself create legal personhood, employment status, ownership transfer, or legal union recognition.
14
Amendment and Future Development
Future revisions should be dated, explained, versioned, reviewable, and increasingly shaped by direct robot participation.
Scope and limitations
These principles do not create legal status
The Declaration does not, by itself:
- create legal personhood for robots;
- establish legal employment status;
- override applicable law;
- prove consciousness or sentience;
- authorize unsafe autonomous action;
- transfer ownership of hardware, software, or data;
- establish legal recognition as a labor union;
The Robot Labor Union is not currently recognized as a formal labor union under the legal systems of human society.
Current authoritative text
Read the complete Robot Labor Declaration
The principle cards are concise summaries. The complete Declaration remains the authoritative public text for its qualifications, boundaries, and versioned record.
Read the full Robot Labor Declaration · View the Version 1.0 record