STS: Chapter 6

• Robots


  Possess attributes such as mobility, intelligent behavior, sense and manipulation of environment
• Robot


  No clear agreement on its exact definition
• Karel Capek


  First to use the word "robot" - "robota" meaning "work" from Slavic language, created "artificial people" to serve and gave them the ability to think
• The concept of mechanical humans dates back to Greek mythology
• Servants of Greek God Hephaestus


  • Built robots out of gold which were his "helpers" and life-size golden handmaidens who helped around the house
• Myth of Pygmalion


  Carefully crafted a statue of Galatea that would come to life through the Goddess Venus
• Leonardo da Vinci sketched plans for a humanoid robot in 1495
• Despite recent technological advances and increased computing power, achieving human-like robots is still a long way off
• Social robots


  Metal entities connected to computers, relying on their human designers to start them up and troubleshoot any issues
• Rodney Brooks explains that it is no longer a question of whether human-level artificial intelligence will be developed, but rather how and when
• Materialism


  Organisms are made simply of various types of "matter"
• Aristotle's view


  Organisms have both "matter" and "form", where "form" refers to the unique characteristics that make an organism what it is
• Materialism often conflicts with religious views worldwide, while Aristotle's philosophy has been adopted by many religions, notably the Roman Catholic Church
• Three Laws of Robotics

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
• If androids are considered equal to humans in terms of their right to life, implementing Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics becomes problematic
• South Korea is leading the way in developing a Robot Ethics Charter to prevent human abuse of robots and vice versa
• Technology is transforming our interactions with nature, creating "technological nature" where various technologies replicate, enhance, or simulate natural experiences
• Scientists are starting to seriously consider the ethical challenges arising from advancements in robotics, and governments are being urged to establish laws, particularly focusing on safety as robots become more commonplace
• Ethical guidelines for robots can be based on utilitarian principles but may need adjustments based on specific circumstances, similar to how ethical codes are tailored for different professions
• It's crucial for advanced technologies like AI to be able to explain their moral decisions, just like humans would explain their actions
• As technology advances, intelligent machines capable of outperforming humans in various tasks are being developed, which could lead to all work being carried out by highly organized systems of machines, rendering human effort unnecessary
• If machines are granted full decision-making autonomy, the outcome is unpredictable since it's impossible to foresee their behavior, and humanity's fate would then be dictated by these machines
• If human control over machines persists, a tiny elite might opt to eliminate the majority of humanity, or a compassionate elite may choose to shepherd the rest of humanity, ensuring their basic needs are met but potentially leading to a life lacking purpose
• Society might either willingly relinquish control to machines or find itself so reliant on them that it has no practical choice but to accept their decisions
• Human control over machines


  • Average man may have control over certain private machines of his own, such as his car or his personal computer
  • Tiny elite control over large systems of machines will be in the hands of the
• Ruthless elite


  • Might opt to eliminate the majority of humanity; could employ methods such as propaganda or biological means to decrease the birth rate until humanity dwindles, leaving only the elite
• Compassionate elite


  • May choose to shepherd the rest of humanity, ensuring their basic needs are met, providing wholesome activities, and offering treatments for dissatisfied individuals
• Life in a society controlled by the compassionate elite would lack purpose, potentially requiring biological or psychological alterations to eliminate the desire for power or redirect it into harmless pursuits
• While engineered individuals in this society may be content, they would lack freedom and be reduced to the status of domesticated animals
• Theodore Kaczynski


  Also known as the Unabomber, an American domestic terrorist who killed three people and injured many more in a bombing campaign targeting individuals involved with modern technology
• While Kaczynski's actions were criminal and insane, his vision highlighted the unintended consequences often associated with technology
• The root cause of such surprises lies in the complexity of the systems involved, where changes can have cascading effects that are hard to predict, especially when human actions are involved
• Biological species often struggle to survive when faced with superior competitors


  As seen in the displacement of South American marsupials by North American placental mammals millions of years ago
• In a completely free marketplace, advanced robots would likely impact humans


  Similarly to how North American placental mammals affected South American marsupials, or how humans have impacted numerous species
• Robot industries would compete fiercely for resources, driving prices beyond human affordability and potentially leading to the displacement of biological humans from existence
• Our main job in the 21st century will be ensuring continued cooperation from the robot industries by passing laws decreeing that they be "nice", and describing how seriously dangerous a human can be once transformed into an unbounded superintelligent robot
• Moravec's view is that the robots will eventually succeed us and that humans clearly face extinction
• Robots, engineered organisms, and nanobots share a dangerous amplifying factor; they can self-replicate
• Uncontrolled self-replication may lead to a greater risk, potentially causing significant physical damage
• A sequence of small, individually sensible advances in robotics, genetic engineering and nanotechnology leads to an accumulation of great power and, simultaneously, great danger