The need for specialized manpower, an ageing population, productivity requirements, competitive stakes: robots offer a seemingly ideal solution to all these challenges, especially with the development of A.I. But when we consider the consequences of their activity, the ideal takes on other forms... because a robot consumes resources, energy and takes up space. None of this is infinite on earth. We'll have to define our priorities.
An autonomous robot, capable of making decisions independently of us and according to unexplained criteria, quickly appears to be an invader, or at the very least, a disrupter. Our rights in relation to robots simply come down to our rights.
On the economic side, those who own robots also own the income generated by them. This poses major political problems: either robots are a public service, or their activity is heavily taxed, otherwise their benefits will only go to a privileged few.
Robots are capable of performing increasingly sophisticated functions; they can become the arms, eyes, legs and even heads of those who control them. They become their extension. A nurse with a robot is more powerful and productive than one without. The same can be said of almost any profession. The robot can be equipped with all kinds of sensors and detectors, it can be sensitive, strong, delicate, patient and resistant all at the same time, it can remember almost anything, it can connect to others and, above all, it doesn't tire or complain. Difficult to do without.
In education, robotics is above all a subject for study and learning, and a much-appreciated one at that. As for replacing a teacher with a robot, we can't really see the advantage over the artificial intelligences already available. The teacher can use them, the student can use them, but the ones who make sense of it all will always be humans.
Happy reading
Denys Lamontagne - [email protected]
Illustration: Ekapanova - DepositPhotos
