Robots have long been one of the world’s most favorite topics to debate on. Talking on the sidelines of Robotics and Automation for Humanitarian Applications (RAHA 2016), renowned roboticist and roboethicist Ronald Craig Arkin said that many people are concerned about the impact of robots on their personal lives and wonder whether it is for the betterment of the mankind or for the detriment of the mankind.
He argued that robots can behave better than human beings in the battlefield if they are designed to comply with the international humanitarian law (IHL). “It is possible for human beings to commit atrocity when they break down due to their anger, frustration and stress,” said Mr. Arkin. However, robots can be built using software that makes them comply with the humanitarian laws.
Currently working as a Regents’ Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mr. Arkin said that robots can replace people working in dull, dirty and dangerous jobs. “We can get people out of those jobs and retrain them for something else and put robots there,” he added.
The scientist spoke about the uses of robots in different sectors such as military, healthcare, mining and e-commerce among others. “The robots have been a part of factory floor for decades now. Amazon has been using them in their warehouses. The Da Vinci Systems has developed little surgical robots that can assist physicians when they have micro tremors in the hands. It can also conduct operations and go through much smaller holes in the body than a human would have to do to remove something,” said Mr. Arkin.
He also revealed that his team is currently doing a research for using robots in agriculture. The farmers can have a bunch of robots scattered across the agricultural land to keep track of the water and know how well hydrated the plants are. “It is called precision agriculture that can enable farmers to reduce the environmental damage and costs by not wasting water or spraying too much of pesticides,” he explained.
Mr. Arkin is also testing to see whether robots can help patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. “The aim is to reduce the likelihood stigmatization which happens between patients and caregivers and if it succeeds, it will improve the quality of life,” he said. The patients can use robots as their companions because the caregivers may lack empathy after a certain period of time.
The professor said that there are some policy challenges that need to be addressed to leverage the full potential of robotics. “Uber is causing a riot in San Francisco because they are not obeying law. However, the purpose is to reduce fatalities because people get drunk, angry, make mistakes and fall asleep while driving and driverless cars won’t do that. People also say that every child that is born today will never drive a car,” he added.
