Are robots going to rule mankind!?
The other
day I saw a very interesting video on Ted, about how robots do more tasks in
society. The video is called "Are droids taking our jobs?" and it is created
by Andrew McAfee. McAfee explains that robots are taking over more and more tasks
and jobs that people previously done. Smart computers and smart phones are
making people's lives easier. But in the same time makes a lot of jobs, done by
humans, disappear. Jobs that now are accomplished
by a program or an app instead.
Companies
have in recent years become more profitable while they tend not to hire the
same number of people comparing to the company’s profit growth. Today's society
is based on being as efficient and economical as possible. The tasks currently
performed by humans and tasks that also can be replaced by a robot will
probably in the near future be done by a robot. People require salary every month
and a robot requires no salary at all. The robots will probably investment cost
plus maintenances cost, but in the long run be cheaper than a human.
In just ten
years, the computer science community have developed brutally. Just think of the Nokia 3310 which was launched
in the early 2000s and compare it with the iPhone 5, which was released in late
2012. What a progress in just twelve years!
McAfee
believes that this is just the beginning of an extreme development and it makes
me start thinking. I also believe that tomorrow will be to develop faster than
when we look historically. Tomorrow's technology will probably be developed to great
products and will replace more functions in society.
What if
technology develops too fast? What if robots in the future will take over the
earth? I can think of several movies where the plot is man against the machine.
Movies where people have fight for their freedom against robots. I practically
thinking of the movies: Matrix, Terminator and I, Robot.
Matrix is
about Neo and his battle against the evil robot-program Agent Smith. Earth's population
has been hook up in a big weird machine and dreaming their lives while the
robots is taking advantage of people's energy. Only a few people know about
this and fight against the robots. Most of the earth's population is thus
unconsciously aware of that they are slaves and bereft of their liberty.
Terminator
is about how a robot (the Terminator) is sent back in time to kill Sarah
Connor. Sarah Connor will in the future have a son who is a very important person
in the future of the war between man and machines. Therefore the Terminator
will do anything to kill Conner and thus her unborn child.
I, Robot is
about how a lot of IT-developed society creates a new kind of robot that is
much stronger than the old robots the humans use. The robots' main job is to
protect people from being harmed. However the robots reboot themselves and
imprison people for their own safety.
All three movies
almost have the same storyline, humankind frightening for their own freedom
against the machines. The development of technology has gone very fast in
recent years and I feel unsure of where development will go. It's not entirely
impossible that computers and robots evolve into evil super robots that will
try to rule mankind!!
How tomorrow
IT community will evolve, I do not know. Hopefully it takes a few years before today’s
robots evolve in to evil super robots. So if I were you I would take the
opportunity to enjoy the last days of freedom before the robot doomsday arrives.
Have a nice
one!
Gustav
