LESSON 6.

0 – WHEN TECHNOLOGY and HUMANITY CROSS – Part 2

Class Comment
This is the second part of video lecture presentation of Lesson 6.0: When Technology and Humanity Cross. In this lesson,
robotics are properly introduced, the roles they play in society and their effects, particularly to the lives of the people are
identified, and the problems they face are also examined thoroughly.

Robotics and Humanity

Another great product of the innovative minds of the people is the robot. Robots are now widely used. For example, there are the
so-called service robots. These particular robots do specific tasks but focus mainly in assisting their masters in their everyday
tasks.

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) made it their task
to formulate a working definition for service robots.

A preliminary extract of the relevant definition is (IFR, 2012):

• A robot is an actuated mechanism programmable in two or more axes with a degree of autonomy, moving within its
environment, to perform intended tasks. Autonomy in this context means the ability to perform intended tasks based on
current state and sensing without human intervention.

• A service robot is a robot that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial automation applications.
Note: A robot may be classified according to its intended application as an industrial robot or a service robot.

• A personal service robot or a service robot for personal use is a service robot used for a noncommercial task, usually by
laypersons. Examples are domestic servant robot, automated wheelchair, personal mobility assist robot, and pet exercising
robot.

• A professional service robot or a service robot for professional use is a service robot used for a commercial task, usually
operated by a properly trained operator. Examples are cleaning robot for public places, delivery robot in offices or hospitals,
firefighting robot, rehabilitation robot, and surgery robot in hospitals. In this context, an operator is a person designated to
start, monitor, and stop the intended operation of a robot or a robot system.

Germany was one of the first countries to develop service robots. As part of the German Federal Ministry of Education and
Research’s “Service Robotics Innovation Lead Initiative,” it sponsored a collaborative project called DESIRE (Deutsche
Servicerobotik Initiative-Germany Service Robotics Initiative) which was launched on October 1, 2005.

DESIRE has the following individual objectives (DESIRE, 2009):

• To achieve a technological edge toward attaining key functions and components that are suited for everyday use
• To create a reference architecture for mobile manipulation
• To promote the convergence of technologies through integration into a common technology platform
• To conduct pre-competition research and development activities for new products and technology transfer in start-up
enterprises in the field of service robotics

Some of the expected work to be performed by DESIRE are the following: (1) “Clear up the kitchen table” – all objects on top of
the kitchen table will be moved to where they belong; (2) “Fill the dishwasher” – the dirty dishes will be sorted correctly into the
dishwasher; and (3) “Clear up this room” – all objects that are not in their proper places will be moved to where they belong (Mock,
n.d.).

The earliest conception of robots can be traced around 3000 BC from the Egyptians. Their water clocks used human figurines to
strike the hour bells. This mechanical device was built to carry out a specific physical task regularly. From that time on, different
machines were already built that displayed the same mechanism and characteristics as the robots in the present. For example,
there was a wooden pigeon that could fly, a talking doll, steam-powered robots, and hydraulically-operated statues that could
speak and gesture. However, the earliest robots as people know them were created in the early 1950s by George Devol. “Unimate”
was his first invention from the words “Universal Automation.” Unfortunately, this attempt to sell his product to the industry did not
succeed. After Unimate, several robots were also invented which were better versions of the previous ones (Stanford, n.d.). Ever
since, people never stopped their quest in the field of robotics.

Roles Played by Robotics

Robots play different roles not only in the lives of the people but also in the society as a whole. They are primarily used to ease
the workload of mankind. They were invented to make life more efficient and less stressful. On one hand, they perform complicated
activities which human beings are incapable of doing. On the other hand, they perform the simplest tasks at home so that their
masters can perform the complex ones without stressing themselves over the simple tasks.

There are also robots which are made for pleasure. To be more specific, these types of robots perform activities to entertain people.
They can usually be found in amusement parks or exhibits. In addition, there are also some robots which were made to serve as
toys. They also perform different activities but they are usually child-friendly. Other examples of robots are those which can be
seen in movies. One of the reasons why robots are very famous is because of movies. A number of local and national movies were
inspired by robots. This goes to show that people have developed a distinct fascination over robots.

Just like people living in the society, robots also have their own set of rules and characteristics that define what a good robot is.
These laws were formulated by Isaac Asimov back in the 1940s, when he was thinking of the ethical consequences of robots.
These are the following (Stanford, n.d.):

Law One:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Law Two:
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Law Three:
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Ethical Dilemma/s Faced by Robotics

Just like any other technological advancements, robotics also faces different problems and dilemmas. Although the idea is to help
people and make their lives a lot easier than before, it is still not immune to different ethical dilemmas and possible undesirable
outcomes. One of the dilemmas faced by robots is safety. Who should be held accountable if someone’s safety is compromised
by a robot? Who should be blamed, the robot, the agent using the robot, or the maker/inventor of the robot? It is important to know
who should be blamed and who should be held responsible if such thing happens.

Another ethical dilemma faced by robots is the emotional component. This may seem a little absurd as of the moment, but looking
at how fast technology progresses nowadays, it is not completely impossible for robots to develop emotions (Evans, 2007)

So here, the questions become, “What if robots become sentient? Should they be granted robot rights? Should they have their
own set of rights to be upheld, respected, and protected by humans?” It is interesting to know how people would react if the time
comes when robots can already feel pain and pleasure. Would they act differently or not at all?

In the field of robotics, there are the so-called partial autonomy and full autonomy. Partial autonomy includes active human-robot
interaction while full autonomy excludes active human-robot interaction. In other words, a robot with full autonomy can perform
actions or activities even without a master telling it what should be done or what should be performed next (IFR, 2012).

Using Asimov’s laws for robots, it can be concluded that robots are ethical but only if they strictly follow the laws specified. They
are ethical mostly because the laws formulated by Asimov ensure the safety of not only the users of the technology but also the
people around him. Remember that these service robots are already available to the public; thus, they can already be found inside
the homes. Having said that, the safety of not only the owner of the technology but also all the people inside the house should be
the priority more than anything else. In other words, the service robots only follow what the masters tell them to do with great
consideration to the laws formulated by Asimov.

However, if the agent using the technology misuses the robot to achieve personal agendas, then without a doubt, the agent should
be held accountable for any consequences it may bring. It is important to note that this is under the assumption that the robot
strictly followed the laws specified without any form of deviation.

If the problems arise when the robot deviates from the laws specified, then the maker or the inventor of the machine should be
blameworthy. It just means that the robot was not programmed very well because it violated the laws.

Other problems may arise when the machine develops the ability to think for itself. In this case, the one that should be blamed can
both be the maker or inventor and the robot itself. This is because, in the first place, the maker gave the robot the capacity to think
for itself so he should be very much aware of its possible consequences. To put it in another way, the maker programmed the robot
in such a way that it can already think for itself even without an active participation from a human being. In addition, since the robot
thinks for itself, whatever decision it makes and whatever consequence it may bring, the robot itself should be held responsible.

For the second dilemma, it is just right for the robots to be given their own set of rights should they develop the ability to feel
different kinds of emotion. It can be argued that the same thing happened with animals. Before, animals did not have their own set
of rights because people believed that they were not capable of having emotions. It is for this reason that people decided to give
them rights that are due to them. The same should be done to robots without any reservations. Should that time come, they ought
to be treated differently and they ought to have new laws to follow in order to accommodate the new characteristic they have
developed.