Izak Endicott

A.I Discussion
6-13-14
Robotics
Robotics is a branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and
application of robots. The most famous questions arising from the creation of robots are; robots
will create possible harm to humans. Such as in the famous movie Terminator.

Upon connection to the secure military network, Skynet spread itself further, locking out human
operated systems, and quickly took control of every weapon system that it came into contact
with. Only then did its creators realize that the virus was Skynet. Exactly one hour later, at 6:18
PM, Skynet launched the American nuclear missiles at their target sites across the world. The
ensuing nuclear holocaust wiped out three billion human lives in what was to be known as
"Judgment Day" (Skynet terminator.wikia.com) This could be a huge dilemma. This is the
worst case scenario. Although this could happen it is very unlikely. And it could be in the very
distant future. The robots in this movie are highly advanced. They are nearly indestructible,
highly intelligent and controlled by a super A.I called Skynet. This is one of the biggest fears that
humans have about artificial intelligence is something like Skynet.
My personal solution to this problem is simple. Dont give A.Is the power to do that kind
of thing in the first place. But this is not as simple as it seems. With an A.I that can teach itself
the possibilities are endless and unpredictable. So the big question is how can we make an A.I
that won't stray off and eventually harm humans because of some God complex or other crazy
idea? Well Asimovs three robotic laws are a pretty good safeguard to this happening. Also with
these laws in place its important to give the robot zero like human qualities. Absolutely zero.
The robot cant be able to feel emotions like humans. Once we give robots emotions its
essentially creating a new species. A new species that is far more intelligent than our own and
could cause possible harm to our race.
So what would be the best physique for a robot? This is a hard question because it
depends entirely on the task the robot is performing. As its pumped full of air, it conforms to
the shape of an object until its "fingers" have enough pressure to lift it. Another example would
be a human picking up a glass of water. We dont have to compute the exact size and shape of
the glass with our brains; our hand adapts to the object. Similarly, Bubbles doesnt calculate the
full length of its movement. "It doesnt know where its tail is all the time," (Adrianne Jefferies
The robot of the future wont look anything like the Terminator. theverge.com, 4-16-14)


This
is a
perfec
t
solution to a problem
that i had came up with
earlier in the course.
How would a robot
know the correct
sensitivity to pick things
up? Well, here is the solution. As seen in the picture the robot has the nimbleness to pick up a
flower and the strenght to pick up a horseshoe. Now with this technology combined with
something like this picture above. Now this humanoid robots name is Atlas and he is a highly
advanced robot. One of the most advanced in the world right now. He can walk up stairs, stay
upright after getting hit with heavy weights, and climb over or around obstacles in his path -- and
may ultimately boost the ability of first responders in a disaster scenario. (DARPA unveils one
of the worlds most advanced humanoid robots. foxnews.com. 6-12-13) This Atlas robot is
currently in production but it can eventually be used as a first responder to a disaster such as an
earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, building collapse, ect. I think that the perfect robot would be a
combination of the soft robot technology and this above hard robot.
A question that i believe cant ever be answered is How do we truly know if a robot is
showing emotion? We cant ever possibly know because what if the robot is just a good liar.
Just as humans are we can fake emotions. Supposedly there is a robot that exists that can already
and his name is Nao. It is able to detect human emotions by studying body-language and facial
expressions and becomes better at reading someone's mood over time as it grows to 'know' the
person. It is also able to remember its interactions with different people and memorise their
faces.( The Daily Newsletter Nao, the first robot able to feel emotions and form bonds with
humans that look after it. dailymail.co.uk. 9-13-2010) So with this little robot some questions
arise. Is it fair to treat this guy like a robot? Or treat him like an animal because he can feel
emotions? Its all in the programing of the robot to act like it feels emotions, not that it actually
learned to feel them it was created to feel them. To what extent are robots truly going to be able
to show emotion? Hopefully not enough to the point where they want to take over the world.
And its impossible to know what a robot would do with emotions just how it is impossible to
know what us humans are going to do. Robots should be created to aid humanity. Robots
programmed with A.I are going to be a soon possibility. Some robots are already doing our jobs
for us and its only a matter of time before well have robots mowing our lawns, doing our
laundry, washing our hair, and who knows what else is in store for us. I wouldnt mind a robot to
do tedious labor for me, it would save a great deal of time. But once the robot starts to give me
attitude back thats where i draw the line.
Bibliography
"DARPA Unveils One of World's Most Advanced Humanoid
Robots."Http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/07/12/darpa-unveils-one-world-most-advanced-
humanoid-robots/. Fox News, 12 July 2013. Web. 14 June 2014.
Reporter, Daily Mail. "Nao, the First Robot Able to Feel Emotions and Form Bonds with
Humans That Look after It." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 14 June
2014.
"The Robots of the Future Won't Look Anything like the Terminator." The Verge.
Adrianne Jeffries, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 14 June 2014.
"Skynet." Terminator Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 June 2014.