TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS

THE RELEVANCE OF HUMANOID ROBOTICS TO THE FIELD OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

EMIR ADEN DINI

TheRelevanceofHumanoidRoboticstotheFieldofPoliticalScience

EmirAdenDini

In this essay, we briefly explore how the development of humanoid robotics intersects
with the field of political scienceandpresentargumentstoencourageitsstudy.Ourexamination
will be primarily focused on the most traditional tenets of the field, respectively being
comparative politics (for this examination, we select the distinct subdiscipline of American
Politics), foreign policy along with its parent discipline of international relations and conclude
with political theory. It is worth noting, that the ideas explored are highly speculative but yield
rewardinginsightsintothefutureofthedisciplineasawhole.

I.

AmericanPolitics

We begin on the microlevel on the premise that internal domestic politics is changed
from the external by advanced humanoid robotics. Primarily in the form of economic
disturbances that arise from a roboticsaturated economy. Disturbances in employment, tax
revenues and cultural values caused by occupational displacement. Displacement which in turn
impacts societal norms, beliefs and attitudes but visible and fiscally identifiable impacts in the
form of reduced spending on public institutions and services. Fiscal pressures which bring
segmentsofsocietytowardsacollisioncourseofinterestsinthehallsofpowerinWashington.

On one end, the public struggles to adapt to a new hightech driven economyyetmaintaincivic
institutions and programs in the face of dwindledincometaxrevenues.Contradictorygoalsonly
achievable with a sizable tax increase on thethosebenefiting fromthisneweconomiclandscape
and the most wealthiest individuals. In opposition, those subject to these measures will likely
exercise political prerogatives and seek to adjudicate the matter to a compromisable end. It is
within theseconfinesofopposinginterestscausedasaresultofadvancedrobotictechnologythat
elevatesthisissueintotherealmofpoliticalscience.

II.ForeignPolicy

While the domestic politics of robotics are largely centered onthelegislativebranch,the

executive branch plays a larger and more concerning role ofincrediblerelevance. Theadventof
drones, cyberwarfare and the preeminence of the United States as a technological superpower
has set a historical precedent which naturally calls for the utilization of robotic technology for
lethal purposes as an important and unignorable objective to maintain American military
hegemony.

It is only conceivable thatsuchahistoricaltrackrecordofprogressingadvancedusageofhuman

ingenuity for sophisticated lethality has pushed (or already has) the United States to tinker and
set the stage for robotic warfare. Credible evidence to this premise can be seen so openly with
DARPA's M3 program and subtly in President Obama's embrace to use automated warfare and
his desire to usher in a new age of smart warfare in complete contradiction to the previous

administration's stance on the use of overwhelmingly conventional means of power to eclipse

adversaries(i.ethePowelldoctrine).
AsthearsenalavailabletotheExecutivebranchbecomesmoreadvanced,itraisesprofound
newquestionsastothelimitationsimposedandwhethertheyareenoughforanOfficewith
ahistoricaltrackrecordofmilitaryaggravationinconflictstoachieveideological,political,
economicandstrategicends.Thepresenceofthesetechnologiescircumventsconstitutional
checksandbalancesandisoverlytooseductivetotheusageofwarratherthanpeace.

It is at this intersection where the trajectory of humanoid robotics crosses paths with the
Executivebranchthatoncesagaincommandsarenewedinterestfrompoliticalscientists.

III.InternationalRelations

In the International area, humanoid robotics present a dauntingchallengetomaintainthe

intricately woven web of diplomacy post WWII that has kept the world a relatively peaceful
place.

The domestic economic pressures of automation is likely to force countries to outsource or

externalize technological unemployment to other countries as result of social or political
pressures. An export based model with internal regulations to prevent or slowdownautomation
will allow for countries tobenefitfromthephenomenawhilebeingtemporarilyimmunefromits
effects. On the other end of the spectrum, importers of this technology will seek to reduce

production costs to gain an economic edge. As a response, competitors (both domestic and
global) will turn to humanoid robotics and other automating technologies as a countermeasure
leading to an automation race among countries to protect their global producers, exacerbating
technologicalunemploymentandintheprocesscreatingpoliticaltensions.

Moreover, the phenomena will contribute not only toeconomicnationalismbuttotheriseofthe

deglobalization of the world. The availability of automating technology presents multinational
firms an opportunity to bring production hubs closer to their customers. For these firms, the
allure of cheap labor is no longer a grounding reason to maintain a spread out supply chain. In
addition, the rise of drones and its usage for commercial delivery only stresses the need for a
moreclosetohomesupplychain.

Lastly, worth noting is the international cooperation that would be needed in the event that
humanoid robotic technology is utilized by criminal enterprises, unsavory regimes and
nongovernmentalorganizations.

Inshort,technologyhasnoboundariesandinthecomingyears,politicalscientistswillneed
toresearch,forecastandpresentpoliciesasthesetechnologiesdiffuseintoeverycornerof
theglobe.

IV.PoliticalTheory

Verymuchinthesamewaythattheindustrialrevolutionignitedvigorousdebatesand
deeppoliticalinquiry,mostofwhichresultedinthecontemporaryformsofpoliticalstructurewe
havetodayalongwiththeinceptionoftheUnitedStatesasacountry,thewritingsofKarlMarx
andthemostnotablehistoricaleventsofthe20thcenturycanbetracedinoneformoranotherto
thissocioeconomictransitiondrivenatitscorebytheintroductionofdisruptivetechnology.

Advanced humanoid robotics and other automating technologies present a similar intellectual
challenge to examine the individual, the nationstateandsocietyincontext withoneanotherand
fromrenewedoptics.

It presents a new challenge to individualism uniquelyincapitalisticsocieties.Cantheindividual

be held to account for economic changes that render them and their posterity
economicallyobsolete and what obligations does the state hold in providing mitigation. If
mitigation is provided to what extent can it infringeontherightsofothers(specificallyproperty
rights) and for what duration. From the optics of the individual, can they be obligated to
participate in an economy that has evolved to no longer to no longer accommodate them. What
rightsdotheyhavefromthestateinaddressingthisissue.

These are questions that are likely to arise as economies automate. Contemporary political
theorists favor a living wage as the best remedy since it provides economic appeasement for

segments of society that are prone to economic exclusion via technological automation. On the
other hand, a living wage threatens individual liberty and provides a new lever of power over
society. Often ignored is that the remedy is permanent, spanning generation after generation in
essence,creatinganewperpetualeconomiccastesystemwithnowayout.

The need for an appropriate response is likely to be found in a new political structure yet to be
devised.AstructurethatnaturallyrequireselementsfromthefieldofPoliticalScience.