Recently there have been many talks about the development of robotics. It is common knowledge that the popularity of robots is increasing very quickly. Every year more or more upgraded robots appear in the world. There are many opinions regarding this topic. Many people agree that the development of robots, especially service robots, could make their lives much easier. Robots could take care of kids and elderly population or do the dirty and some difficult work. However, it seems that people underestimate the negative sides of robotics. They tend to forget about ethical issues and, what is more important, the fact that any robot is still a machine that any time could break down. Therefore, it is possible to state that the development of robotics could be harmful. All in all, it is possible to mention three major negative effects of the development of robotics: the usage of robots as companions for children and elderly population, the possibility of social dysfunction after long term exposure to robots and the dangerous effects of substituting humans with robots
First of all, it is important to think of the harmful effects of using robots for care and personal companionship. In order to prove the necessity of robots, some people claim that they could be used by elderly population or children who have health problems. For instance, in her article “To Siri, With Love: How One Boy with Autism Became BFF with Apple’s Siri” Newman uses the example of her own son with autism who fell in love with Siri. There is some truth in these arguments. However, it is still possible to disagree with the idea that robots should be used for care and companionship. The thing is that any robot is a machine that can break any time. Thus, Brown (2013) admits that service robots are imperfect as “when then robot loses its Internet connection, it goes lifeless” (Brown). If a robot breaks, it won’t be able to assist children or elderly people. As a result, they may stay without any help for a long period of time and the consequences may be unpredictable. Moreover, if a robot faces unusual or uncommon situation it won’t be able to help humans as well. These are the main reasons why robots cannot be used for personal care and companionship. In contrast, their usage may bring numerous problems.
Secondly, people should realize that if they are going to use robots all the time, it may lead to social dysfunction. This problem is especially common for children and young people. It seems that people tend to forget about possible effects of children’s long term exposure to robots. Thus, if children are going to spend most of their time with robots, they can simply forget how to communicate with real people. According to Sharkley, “because of the physical safety that robot minders provide, children could be left without human contact for many hours a day or perhaps for several days, and the possible psychological impact of the varying degrees of social isolation on development is unknown” (Sharkley, 2008). Moreover, the author provided the results of studies of monkeys’ long term bonding with a robot. The result of such experiment was severe social dysfunction. Adults also cannot communicate with robots all the time. They need contact with humans. If people are going to spend all their time communicating with robots, they eventually will start to feel uncomfortable in the company of other humans. Robots are usually programmed to behave in a specific way. Humans, on the contrary, can behave absolutely unpredictably. That is why people may start to suffer from anxiety or shyness when communicating to other people. All in all, it is possible to arrive at conclusion that the development of robotics may be harmful as it may lead to social dysfunction.
Thirdly, the harmful effects of robotics may appear when people will try to substitute humans with robots. In such a way they will become totally dependent on robots. Many people already agree to substitute humans with robots. For instance, Turkle (2010) in her work “Alone together: The Robotic moment” makes a claim that people no longer interact with each other on personal level. They prefer calls and messages instead. As Turkle states, modern women would rather choose a robot as a companion instead of man. Indeed, Robots already exist in various spheres of lives. For instance, Ross mentions that he has already seen “a humanoid robot called NAO that is serving as a teaching assistant in science and computer science classes in 70 countries” (Ross, 2016). Many people believe that robots should substitute people who perform dangerous or dirty jobs. They could perform practically any kind of job. However, people should never forget that it is too risky to rely on technology so much. It is hard to predict the way robots may behave in future. That is why it is too dangerous to substitute humans with robots. A clear example of how dangerous it might be to substitute people with robots is provided by Sharkley. According to the author, robots are already used for military purposes. As Sharkley claims, “the semiautonomous unmanned combat air vehicles, such as the MQ1 Predator and MQ9 Reapers, carry Hellfire missiles and bombs that have been involved in many strikes against insurgent targets that have resulted in the deaths of many innocents, including children” (Sharkley, 2008). This example perfectly proves that it is hard to control robots. That is why it is extremely dangerous to substitute humans with robots.
References
Brown, R. (2013). A Swiveling Proxy That Will Even Wear a Tutu. New York Times. Retrieved from: https://nytimes.com
Newman, J. (2014). To Siri, With Love: How One Boy with Autism Became BFF with Apple’s Siri. New York Times. Retrieved from: https://nytimes.com
Ross, A. (2016). Op-Ed: Fictional Robots of the ’70s Will Be Reality In the 2020s. Upvoted. Retrieved from: https://upvoted.com
Sharkley, N. (2008). The Ethical Frontiers of Robotics. Science. Retrieved from: https://science.org
Turkle, S (2010). Alone Together: The Robotic Moment. Academia. Retrieved from: http://Academia.edu
