by Michael Fletcher

Created on: July 14, 2010

Science fiction writers have for years been warning us about the encroachment of robots into our private lives. Without sounding like a conspiracy theorist or paranoid nut case, I warn you now, we are on the precipice of a new society, propped up by the power of robots. Utilizing robots to make up for deficiencies in society is noble to an extent. However It points to a larger problem. Man's desire to solve it's problems without the hard work. Without the physical interaction. We want the quick fix. We want the instant answer.

Problems like education and rampant warfare across the globe are a reality for so many, however I have no reason to believe that the introduction of robots will in anyway improve the situation.

Children during their formative years require personal interaction, while complex algorithms and enormous technology exists to bridge the gap, fundamentally the introduction of a robot will never be able to facilitate the sharing of values and knowledge. Children fortunate enough to go to school will spend more time interacting with their teacher than with their parent in any given week. Unsurprising then that I have serious reservations about entrusting the future of our society to unfeeling replacements packed with knowledge and short on human values and understanding.

The worst possible future I can imagine for us is the day, which I have no doubt will be soon, that armies of robots battle each other on behalf of humanity. When human casualties cease on the battlefield what will the incentive be for peace? With the atrocities of war reduced to a glorified video game war will continue until the end. War has become less and less personal. A few hundred years ago combatants met each other field and settled their differences with simple weapons like clubs and knives. The brutality of these battles ensured that these wars would be brief. The closer you are to someone the harder it is to take it's life. As time has progressed so have our methods of killing, until today at the push of a button, without seeing a single victim a general can lay waste to a city. We already have drones performing missions in the middle east the only real result of that has been increased government spend which allows more enemy casualties with less risk to on or to of our own soldiers. This will not shorten wars, only give us less more reason to be ruthless as we have less to lose in these battles.

The worlds problems arise from lack of involvement, shipping our problems out to be tended to by robots may make a difference in the long run however we need to attack the root cause of problems if we are to find meaningful solutions that provide lasting change. For now I'll teach my own children and fight my own wars, it's the humane thing to do.

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