Joshua Phares Page 1
Eng 102, Laura Cline
Final Essay
Robotic Future
Do you think it’s scary that one day your job can be taken over by a robot? For some this is a fear, for others this is already a reality. I am going to dive into the reality that technology is ever revolving and robots are no longer just on episodes of The Jetsons, but very soon, could be on our front door step.
In 2004, Twentieth Century Fox made a movie based off of the book by Isaac Asmov, I, Robot. This movie is set in 2035 and shows a world where robots are used as servants and public helpers. These robots look human like and basically do what the human does not want to do; run errands, clean house, watch the kids, etc. The robots live by 3 rules, as detailed in Asmov’s book and the movie, I, Robot;
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 the orders that come to it by human beings, except when such orders 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 Laws. (Strickland, 2005)
The reason for the laws is to protect the humans. In the movie, Will Smith’s character, Del Spooner, is in an accident where several cars crash into the water. A robot jumps in and assesses
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that Spooner is a better bet to save over a 12 year old girl. This is law number 1. Thus begins the story line where Spooner fights to not give control over to the robots. He sees that little by little humans are becoming extinct in a sense. In that world, cars are not manually driven, you don’t have to manually turn on equipment in your home or office and day to day activities can be done by robots. Spooner believes that these robots are developing on their own and can get around the 3 laws.
These robots are portrayed as secondary citizens. They have a human like appearance and do almost everything that a human does, but they do not have all the rights.
In Asmov’s book, the beginning describes the robots simply as mechanical designs that flourish and evolve into each successive generation. By the end of the book, the robots are more human like. (Asmov) Is this where we are headed? In our society I have not seen anywhere that has a human like robot, that is not to say they do not exist, but in our day and age we are obviously not at the point where every household has one. I do believe we are headed in this direction, I just don’t think we will see it by 2035. It worries me that we have all become so dependent on technology. Now don’t get me wrong, I was the first of my friends to have a cell phone, but a cell phone doesn’t have the power or possibility of taking my job or taking my life.
What I fear is that eventually we can be overrun by robots. In my paper, robots represent a future where we have no manual control and our life starts becoming predestined. What happens when you give someone control over something? Well, frankly you no longer are in the driver’s seat and you are not in control. That person has that situation in their hands. Now insert a robot and give them control of our day to day living. What you have is a life predetermined by robots. In the movie, Spooner lived in a way where he was in control. He drove his car and motorcycle
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manually, his apartment was not controlled by voice controls or anything robotic. What he saw, people were blinded by.
What bothers me about robots coming into our future is that there will be someone controlling them. Who is to say who makes the rules or laws for these creatures? Does one person, a panel or a company? In the movie, a certain scientist was able to create a robot that had feelings and was able to operate without using the 3 laws, something no one believed except Spooner. In the below excerpt, Spooner is talking with an employee where the scientist (Alfred) was just killed by the robot he created. We later learn that this robot was told to do this, so the correct information can be received that robots can have emotions.
Susan Calvin: I don't understand. Alfred wrote the Three Laws. Why would he build a robot that could break them?
Detective Del Spooner: Hansel and Gretel.
Susan Calvin: What?
Detective Del Spooner: Two kids, lost in the forest. Leave behind a trail of bread crumbs.
Susan Calvin: Why?
Detective Del Spooner: To find their way home. How the hell did you grow up without reading Hansel and Gretel?
Susan Calvin: Is that really relevant?
Detective Del Spooner: Everything I'm trying to say to you is about Hansel and Gretel. You didn't read it, I'm talking to the wall.
Susan Calvin: Okay. Okay.
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Detective Del Spooner: All right, look, just say Lanning was locked down so tight he couldn't get out a message. All he could do was leave me clues, like a trail of bread crumbs.
Susan Calvin: Bread crumbs equals clues. Odd but fine. Clues leading where?
Detective Del Spooner: I don't know, but I think I know where he left the next one. I think Lanning gave Sonny a way to keep secrets. I think the old man gave Sonny dreams. (Imdb, 2004)
Another interesting tid bit about the above excerpt is that when we allow technology to take over our lives we miss out of information we would have known otherwise. Calvin didn’t even know about a childhood tale because she has only been given technological advanced information. Is this another piece of future we need to prepare for? Are our children’s children’s children not going to know about the nursery rhymes we grew up with? Are they not going to know about 9-11 or even the Chicago Bulls domination in the 1990’s?
I, Robot actually has a great comparison to Frankenstein. You have a scientist that creates a “monster” because they wanted to make a difference and even though in Frankenstein, the monster turns and goes bad, it’s a creation and a spark of genius in itself.
Lt. John Bergin: I've been thinking. This thing's like the Wolfman.
Detective Del Spooner: Uh-oh, I'm really scared, John.
Lt. John Bergin: No, seriously. Guy creates monster. Monster kills guy. Everyone kills monster. Wolfman.
Detective Del Spooner: That's Frankenstein.
Lt. John Bergin: Frankenstein, Wolfman, Dracula, shit, it's over. (Imdb, 2004)
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Now not to say that I am against having any robots in my future, I just hope we never get to the point where we rely solely on them. In another article I came across, this discussed our past, present and future involving them. This article contends that robots are used for jobs that are deemed unsafe for humans.
Today, robots are doing human labor in all kinds of places. Best of all, they are doing the jobs that are unhealthy or impractical for people. This frees up workers to do the more skilled jobs, including the programming, maintenance and operation of robots. Robots that work on cars and trucks are welding and assembling parts, or lifting heavy parts --the types of jobs that involve risks like injury to your back and arm or wrist, or they work in environments filled with hazards like excessive heat, noise or fumes-dangerous places for people. Robots that assemble and pack cookies or other foodstuff do so without the risk of carpal tunnel injury, unlike their human counterparts. Robots that make computer chips are working in such tiny dimensions that a person couldn't even do some of the precision work required. In the health industry, robots are helping to research and develop drugs, package them and even assist doctors in complicated surgery such as hip replacement and open heart procedures. And the main reason robots are used in any application is because they do the work so much better that there is a vast improvement in quality and/or production, or costs are brought down so that companies can be the best at what they do while keeping workers safe. (Huse, Robotics Online)
In a perfect world for me, we will have advanced technology beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, but we will also control how we live. These robots represent a probable future, but a scary one at
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that. This tale of the future questions whether technology will ultimately lead to mankind’s salvation…or annihilation. (I, Robot, 2004)
Asimov, Isaac. “I, Robot”. Random House Publishing Group. April 2008
“I, Robot”. Twentienth Century Fox. 2004
Huse, Brian. “How Robots will Affect Future Generations”. Robotic Industries Association.
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“Memorable Quotes for I, Robot”. The Internet Movie Database. 2004. www.imdb.com
Strickland, Gary. “Your portal to the world of Speculative Fiction”. 2005.
www.templetongate.net.
