In the End, Will Robots Win?

Opinion | By: Samayeeta Maitra

In today’s world artificial intelligence is expanding skills and moving up the corporate ladder. Hence robotics is no longer going to be just a science fiction, we might even have a Terminator-like future! Sounds crazy, right?

Robots are becoming increasingly common in this world. Starting from Star Wars to your nearby hospital, they are a very essential part of mankind. To improve your mental illness, we have The PARO Therapeutic Robot which is designed to provide the benefits of animal therapy to ease stress. Robots can work in hazardous conditions, such as poor lighting or amongst toxic chemicals. They work with more accuracy (Example: The da Vinci System) and are capable of lifting heavy loads, potentially raise more profits and are user-friendly as well. There is no doubt that they have contributed enough towards society but if we compare the speed and efficiency of robots and humans, there is no guarantee that none of them will take away your job or even turn into a Megatron!

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk told us that A.I. could wipe out the human race. Even Stephen Hawkings warned us about the dark future of robots. David Hanson, creator of humanoid robot, Sophie, also told us that within the next 10-20 years, robots will truly be alive and self-aware. Robots do not have the cognitive capability of completely dominating humans or carry out malicious or dangerous activities but they totally can conquer the world if people manipulate them to engage in such acts and put A.I. in autonomous weapons.

​If robots become smarter than humans, we will soon lose control and it would be impossible to stop them. For example, Facebook shut down an A.I. experiment after two robots suddenly started talking in their own language (they most probably tried to modify the human language). Hence humans should identify the potential threats before experimenting. As A.I. advances our lives and slowly acquires control, human bodies just don't stand a chance. It would be better to keep the robots under control and not completely depend our lives on them, keeping in mind the potential risks.

So in conclusion, will robots win? We'll never know!