Will robots increase the class divide?
8 Jan 2009 by Evoluted New Media
A Spanish study has looked at the future impact of robots on society and concludes that a technological imbalance may be caused over the next 12 years between those who have robots and those who do not.
A Spanish study has looked at the future impact of robots on society and concludes that a technological imbalance may be caused over the next 12 years between those who have robots and those who do not.
The study considers the possible repercussions of incorporating robots into society. A robotic gulf may be caused by a cultural distinction being drawn between companies and people that can afford to buy robots and those who cannot. As humans will we try and define “robot rights”? The study also asks the question – what is the impact on unemployment if robots carry out labour intensive tasks?
Most experts agree that 2020 will be an inflection point for robot technology as this is the point robots will be able to see, act, speak and have intelligence. “Just as we depend upon mobile phones and cars in our daily lives today, the next 15 years will see mass hybridisation between humans and robots,” predicts Professor Antonio López Peláez who co-authored the paper. Robots will become commonplace and will be helping us with a large number of work and social activities.
Robots are already all around us in unmanned aircraft and factories but new technology will see robots assisting humans in new areas. The potential impact on medical applications is enormous, whether it is exoskeletons to help disabled people move or nanobots that can be released into the blood to clean arteries.
However, the biggest impact on our society would be the development of social robots, machines with artificial intelligence. “A robot might be a more effective partner and a better person than the humans we actually have in our immediate lives: just as you can see dog owners talking to their pets today, soon we will be talking to robots,” says Professor Peláez. “Since they will be used as objects, sexual robots may be able to act as a future substitute for prostitution or pornography.”
So perhaps the future does not look too unlike I Robot - we can expect to see robots in hospitals, homes, workplaces and perhaps even being picked up on street corners...?
By Leila Sattary
