Robot

When the word is mentioned what do you think of?

Were you irresistibly drawn to a fictional character or one that has automated tasks in your workplace?

Fictional robots excite the imagination. They’ve been given human characteristics. Fiction is created by human story tellers. Using story telling abilities gained from generations of humans interacting with other humans.

That’s why we adore fiction. The pace, the surprises, love, sadness, happiness are all borne of us. We’re emotionally intelligent.

Regardless, much of western media is transfixed with the non-fictional robots being created to increase efficiencies. Forecasting indiscriminate loss of jobs and life.

New utopia ahead?

Some are pimping visions of utopia. More robots means more time for us to be human.

In 2014 Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Editor at the Financial Times, outlined how robots can free the poor:

“For a long time the wealthiest lived a life of leisure at the expense of the toiling masses”

“The rise of intelligent machines makes it possible for many more people to live such lives without exploiting others.”

Utopia ahoy

Martin Wolf is not alone. Paul Mason, renowned economics journalist, is one such advocate. His recent book, ‘Post Capitalism: A guide to our future’ was reviewed by a range of prominent thinkers, from Irvine Welsh to Gillian Tett.

For him, Wikipedia symbolises our world on the brink of a revolution. His view:  After two hundred years of capitalism’s domination of the West, it has become flawed. Inequality is rampant, the polar caps are melting and nations are lumbered with debt.

Mason pushes his point:

“The biggest information product in the World – Wikipedia – is made by 27,000 volunteers for free”

“If it were run as a commercial site, Wikipedia’s revenue could be $2.8bn a year. Yet Wikipedia makes no profit. And in doing so it makes it almost impossible for anybody else to make a profit in the same space.”

Gentle Spokesian reminder: The internet was created by the US military. A well funded organisation designed to perfect the arts of war.

Artificial Intelligence

The first word gives the game away. Robots are created by us. They cannot possess epochs of human interaction. Logical and emotional reactions are different. All of us will react differently in a situation depending on our emotions. Daniel Goleman (Author, Lecturer and influencer) is an authority on this, he has a canon of work. If you haven’t read any of his work I’d recommend his book Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. After reading you will better understand yourself. Daniel explains:

“Emotional intelligence begins to develop in the earliest years. All the small exchanges children have with their parents, teachers, and with each other carry emotional messages.”

Robots will be here for a long time, as mimics. The recent ‘breakthroughs’ in robotics only follow instructions from master chefs, surgeons or other professionals. Undertaking human tasks that are part of human jobs is now a reality. Remember there was a world before vending machines. A person sold you everything previously.  But what if the benefits of robots included conducting more life-saving roles, sometimes in difficult places. Oil rigs, mines, logging sites and more could have ‘medical robots’ permanently on call, in difficult environmental conditions and at lower costs than a human specialist?

Human medical professionals are still needed to progress their art, but, the delivery of it can be carried out on a wider scale. No jobs taken, more lives saved.

Computers have enabled problem solving that has blessed us all. Their codified ability may be planted in a robot. But the ability of a robot to choose the science or profession they are wedded to and motivates them is not here yet.

In 2015 Fei-Fei Li, Stanford University’s Director of their Artificial Intelligence Laboratory poignantly notes:

“Computers are becoming better and better at perception tasks. Algorithms can identify thousands of types of cars while I can only tell three of them.”

“But at the cognitive, empathic and emotional level, machines are not even close to humans.”

Power

During and after the Industrial Revolution the ‘toiling masses’ were the workers who performed tasks an automated machine couldn’t. Before they were slaves carrying out the elite’s wishes. While the ancient 1% blessed themselves with the time to progress humanity.

In fairness the Ancient Greeks and other slave driven societies did come up with some valuables for the human race: The foundations of philosophical thought, developments in mathematics, the initial design of democracy and it educated and entertained us with mythology.

I admire promoters of a more humane world where robots free us to interact with each other more. There is no guarantee that those with the power and money to generate robots will be benevolent. History cannot be ignored.

Will new technology be enslaved to free us or not?

It depends on us. We do have a choice, but we need to act. Remember Einstein’s wise words:

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”

Note to selves

While Robots can replace humans for repeat tasks, we ask of them. Humans need to remember not to behave like a robot. Charles Handy, in his latest book: The Second Curve reminds us we need to remember the wonder of being us:

“Once you start to calculate the costs and benefits of everything you do you will be no better than a robot. Indeed a robot might well make better calculations than you.”

Mother Nature can’t be ignored in all this

All of this post so far, assumes that humans remain the sole controllers of their own destiny. If the ice caps are melting then we can stop them. If an epidemic breaks out we have or can make the vaccines. Where there’s floods we will build the barriers.

In the background, Mother Nature continues to evolve more than just us. Where dinosaurs once walked so did tiny humans. The tiny took over.

We are at the mercy of Black Swans.

Robots will be a part of our world. At our invitation.

Gary Spokes – 2015