Should robots be nationalised?: 

Should robots be nationalised?

Context:

It is believed that If properly managed, the robotic revolution could be a chance to free millions of people from a system of exploitation of labour which is unprecedentedly inhumane.

Artificial Intelligence:

  • Artificial Intelligence is intelligent behaviour by machines, rather than the natural intelligence of humans and other animals.
  • Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computer behave like a human beings.
  • It is the study of ways in which machines can be made to have sufficient creative reasoning power to perform mental task.
  • Artificial intelligence includes expert tasks such as diagnostic diseases, designing computer system and planning scientific expedition.

Government task force on artificial intelligence:

  • Recently, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has constituted a Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for India’s Economic Transformation.
  • The Task force will explore the possibilities to leverage AI for development across various fields. It will submit concrete and implementable recommendations for industry, government and research institutions.

Advantages:

  1. It can help in doing multiplicity of tasks quickly which manually can take significant time.Ex: Advanced computing in genetics to determine the molecular properties
  2. Can help in reducing human misery. ex: robots, drones helping during disasters, essential in era of climate change
  3. Meeting needs of increasing population. Ex: quick Transport(compressing space), Driverless cars, drones for service delivery like medicines
  4. Reaching remote places to gain knowledge and prosperity Ex: Deep Ocean, Polymetallic nodule extraction etc.
  5. Precision: Such technologies are more precise and accurate than human beings, which can lead to provision of much better quality services.
  6. Economy: The overall costs of their management and operation is lower as compared to the manpower costs incurred, in the case of firms. This can help in generating greater profits for the upcoming entrepreneurs and startup firms.
  7. Convenience: Artificial intelligence believed to be more convenient, as compared to a task being performed using an older technology, or manually.
  8. Declining productivity is a major issue which can be resolved by AI.
  9. It is a virtual labor force and a new driver in the economy. Along with productivity improvement, AI can boost economic growth through innovation. This will enable people to do their jobs better, be more productive and focus on their high-value tasks.

Disadvantages:

Threat to humanity:

  1. Fourth Industrial Revolution, built around Artificial Intelligence eliminates jobs, both blue and white collar, at a rapid pace.
  2. Artificial intelligence could drive global unemployment to 50%, wiping out middle class jobs, and exacerbating inequality.
  3. Automation’s effect on unemployment would have huge political consequences.
  4.  In China, artificial intelligence has already affected the thousands of jobs as electronic manufactures; develop precious robots to replace humans.
  5. Livelihood issue: It will take jobs of millions so problem relate to basic necessities and vicious cycle issues will erupt.
  6. Social unrest: It will lead to  chaos, fight and social crimes.
  7. Human emotion: Robot can never be friend, so decrease in socialization harmony, problems related to privacy, human ethics and moral behaviour.
  8. Creates inequality: A wealthier country will progress more as better product in less time.
  9. Loss of worth of human intelligence due to presence of an alternative.
  10. The ethical problem of fixing the legal accountability emanating from consequences of actions guided by artificial intelligence.
  11. Benefits only rich and concentration of wealth

Fourth Industrial Revolution:

  •    The Fourth Industrial Revolution can be described as the advent of “cyber-physical systems” involving entirely new capabilities for people and machines.
  •   The Fourth Industrial Revolution represents entirely new ways in which technology becomes embedded within societies and even our human bodies. Examples include genome editing, new forms of machine intelligence, breakthrough materials and approaches to governance that rely on cryptographic methods such as the blockchain.

Advantages of Fourth Industrial Revolution:

  •   Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world.
  • In the future, technological innovation will also lead to a supply-side miracle, with long-term gains in efficiency and productivity.
  •  Transportation and communication costs will drop, logistics and global supply chains will become more effective, and the cost of trade will diminish, all of which will open new markets and drive economic growth.

Conclusion:

Artificial intelligence and the rapid speed, with which its utility is being recognized in domains as diverse as transport, health, navigation, etc, is indeed good news for mankind. But, at the same time, an unregulated use, or even an unthought application of such technologies can bring with it numerous casualties.  There is need to use this technology in a manner that improves out comfort and convenience levels, and should not allow machines to dictate the order of things in the long-run by maintaining requisite checks.

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