I ROBOT! Do we need international rules?

by Babel-Fish | September 15, 2009 at 05:30 pm

410 views | 12 Recommendations | 2 comments

Isaac Asimov set some rules that he thought that Robot’s if existed should obey. The point is now that science fiction has started to become a reality we are seeing robotic technology and robots being used on the battle fields.

Such as the new American invented Precision Urban Hopper that can hop over walls and be used for surveillance, but of course this robot is not designed to kill. However at least one cry has been made by Professor Noel Sharkey (expert in artificial intelligence) to protect innocent people against robotic attack.

An international debate is needed on the use of autonomous military robots, a leading academic has said.

Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield said that a push toward more robotic technology used in warfare would put civilian life at grave risk.

Technology capable of distinguishing friend from foe reliably was at least 50 years away, he added.

However, he said that for the first time, US forces mentioned resolving such ethical concerns in their plans.

"Robots that can decide where to kill, who to kill and when to kill is high on all the military agendas," Professor Sharkey said at a meeting in London.

"The problem is that this is all based on artificial intelligence, and the military have a strange view of artificial intelligence based on science fiction."

Then the South Korean government have actually wrote an ethical code into law concerning Robots… I wonder if this follows the thoughts of Isaac Asimov.

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 orders given it by human beings except where such orders would 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 Law

An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea.

The Robot Ethics Charter will cover standards for users and manufacturers and will be released later in 2007.

It is being put together by a five member team of experts that includes futurists and a science fiction writer.

The South Korean government has identified robotics as a key economic driver and is pumping millions of dollars into research"The government plans to set ethical guidelines concerning the roles and functions of robots as robots are expected to develop strong intelligence in the near future," the ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said. .

Perhaps USA should be looking at the ethics of using Robot’s to kill on the battle fields and that they should only be used for surveillance? However it would seem that other countries wish to step just as far as the US military have concerning Robotics. Well actually in league with USA, But are the Australian serious about having robotic soldiers..

Australia has launched a multi-million dollar competition to build a new generation of military robots.

The winning design must help soldiers fight by remote control in urban combat zones, defence officials say.

The aim is to reduce casualties in urban areas where fighting is unpredictable and treacherous.

The competition is being run by Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation in partnership with the US military.

Well actually no they want to use robots for surveillance and to pin point targets.

But we are not far from having the full metal jacket robotic soldier fight the wars I expect that to happen within the next decade. I there for can see the problems indicated by Professor Noel Sharkey and why Isaac Asimov thoughtfully added robotic laws within his wonderful science fiction stories. Isaac Asimov rightly guessed that technology would advance towards robotics that man would built computerized and organic beings in his image.

However moving on to a possible future and what has already crept from the a think tank in United Kingdom. Yes as expected in a country that has a social care system.

Robots could one day demand the same citizen's rights as humans, according to a study by the British government.

If granted, countries would be obliged to provide social benefits including housing and even "robo-healthcare", the report says.

The predictions are contained in nearly 250 papers that look ahead at developments over the next 50 years.

Other papers, or "scans", examine the future of space flight and methods to dramatically lengthen life spans.

"We're not in the business of predicting the future, but we do need to explore the broadest range of different possibilities to help ensure government is prepared in the long-term and considers issues across the spectrum in its planning," said Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser.

Yep! United States citizens and government are ranting over heath care and the British Government is thinking already about a Robo-Health system.

But what about pensions for robot soldiers when they are retired, if of course only if Isaac Asimov well thought rule “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm” Does not become an international requirement.

So do we need International rules concerning Robots and should Isaac Asimov robotic laws be imposed?

7 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend Sign In or Join to post comments

Babel-Fish

at 17:49 on September 15th, 2009

Perhaps it's to early to supply an answer to the question, but is it?

Cafegurl

at 12:55 on September 24th, 2009

As soon as you have the technology for something or even before, rules and paremeters have to be set up. Or it's like having set loose a tornado with no off switch.