How well would Computer Robots and Automated Machines fit into society?

Hey folks,

Machines are used throughout the world to help/assist us in doing our chores. And, more and more machines are being designed and put into use these days, which is why I have always wondered about a futuristic society where we would have robots and automated machines doing all labour and other sort of simple/repetitive jobs. It would be awesome if we could have robot servants/employees who would do all our work for us at our direction. However, there are several other implications to having these bots which makes me wonder, how realistic can it be to actually have them?

Allow me to explain; the designing of such bots is going to be very hard itself plus to make them deal with exceptional cases in their tasks will be a nightmare for the engineers. Then we would have to deal with possible malfunctioning, maintenance and other forms of sustaining exercises. Plus the financial costs of doing all this. Perhaps even if all the hardware designing and keeping can be managed, there are effects that such robots will have on society which need to be considered. Betterment in technology and equipment means more jobs done by machines which inevitably lead to lesser jobs and more unemployment. It just might be possible that even with all their help these bots would be cursed in the real world for putting people out of work. Another possible scenario is that if too much dependence is put on these robots, people may become disoriented with world itself (for a better image- scenario in the space station in the movie Wall-E portrays this). So then, when and how can robots come into the society? One ideal time to introduce bots could be when the society is in sort of a Marxist structure where everyone looks for the betterment of each other over competition, when imaginably all governments of the countries throughout the world have given up their greed and only look to make the world a better place. Also, a balance needs to be maintained between dependence on these robots and doing it ourself. Only maybe then, the robots can be of genuine assistance to humans and not replacement of humans.

Feel free to drop in comments below!

PS: Here are a two detailed readings if you are interested-

1. http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots/robots_ethical.html

2. http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/ethical-issues-robots-society

As always you could look for more if you want ;)

A Powerful Tool (Important Post)

Hey folks,

I’m sure some of you must have heard about Joseph Kony or must have seen 'Kony 2012' posters or images around you. If you haven’t, well this post is going to tell you all you need to know. Joseph Kony is a Ugandan warlord, head of a militant group called the Lord's Resistance Army formed from abducting and brainwashing children and turning them into soldiers. Leading the charts on the list of people indicted in the International Criminal Court, this man is charged with horrible and terrifying crimes such as sexual slavery, mass murder, kidnapping, forcing children to kill their own parents and many more and now with the "Kony 2012" movement the world hopes to bring him to justice. ‘Kony 2012’ a film posted on YouTube by the group Invisible Children Inc. is an attempt to popularize Joseph Kony in order to arrest him. The video now at watch count 71 million is getting more popular day by day and the movement seems to get bigger and bigger.

Here's what the video aims to do, in order to catch Kony the US military advisers need to help the Ugandan govt. which would be sent from the states only if the govt. approves. After constant approach by millions of people the US govt. has sent their troops and has made efforts to catch Kony. However, as the video tells that if the people 'don’t care' the troops will be recalled and the mission will be cancelled. So with help of this film the group Invisible Children hope to make Kony visible and famous to the entire world so that the mission goes on and he is caught.

Anyhow, there is more here than what meets the eye. The film created here portrays Uganda as a war zone without peace and full of injustice where any kid could just easily be abducted, but following a 2006 successful military campaign the LRA (which at most number hundreds and not 30000) have been pushed out of Uganda and now operate on remote areas South Sudan and the Central African republic-where Kony is believed to have fled now. Using clever filming techniques and toying with people’s emotion, the video has accomplished to make the Kony campaign a success but, the firm Invisible children Inc. seems to have ulterior motives for doing such a noble thing. Along with sharing the movie online, Invisible Children's call to action is to do three things: sign its pledge, get the Kony 2012 bracelet and action kit (only $30) and sign up to donate. Just seems a bit fishy especially after there has been criticism over the firm's finances and how it spends too much money on administration and filmmaking over actual NGO projects which could actually benefit the 'invisible children' featured in the film.

Now you guys must be wondering why post about all this if I think that the very organisation leading this movement is not doing it for a genuine reason. It’s because I believe that this movement could become a very powerful tool in order to bring down the world's biggest criminals. This powerful tool setup through the computer media world could help us improve society a lot. Think about millions of people rising up together, using the media and this technology; we can go after each criminal one by one and bring them to justice. Genuine intent or not, this movement has united millions of people throughout the world to rise up against the bad and could be further used to go after remaining bad guys and help raise living standards throughout entire world by making people aware. My suggestion would be that each one of you become a part of this movement, use the technology and make people aware by sharing more on the subject but also do some research in order to prevent anyone from taking advantage of your good intentions.

PS- If you need more details on the subject you could see:

The Kony 2012 movie at..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

Another very interesting post I found.. Gives a lot of important detail..

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things

And of course, you could also always do more research on your own.

Hopefully you all will join the cause ! Peace !