This article explores the positive impact that AI robots will have on our daily lives, as well as the fears of a sci-fi future of robotic oppression of humans. Using examples from movies, we’ll compare the ethical and technological limitations of AI robots with the concept of human free will, and suggest possibilities and positive uses in the real world.
What do you think of when you hear the word robot? Many people think of robots that look like humans and have human-level intelligence. Numerous robots depicted in movies and novels have created this image in the public mind. In particular, robots that can talk and learn like humans have been popular in many science fiction works. No one doubts that robots with such intelligence would make our lives much easier if they could be used appropriately. For example, a robot that can fulfill the role of a secretary or housekeeper would be a great addition to our lives, saving us the trouble of time management and household chores. If this assumption is realized, robots will likely become more than just machines, but important companions for humans. Especially in an aging society, care robots that help the elderly and infirm could significantly improve the quality of life for individuals while reducing societal costs.
However, despite these benefits, some people fear that robots will become intelligent and that the relationship between robots and humans will be subverted and humans will be dominated by robots. I believe that these fears are based on the fiction of science fiction movies and are nothing more than a vague fear of something new that we haven’t yet experienced in the real world. Anxiety about AI and robots in particular may be a natural human defense mechanism against unknown technologies. For example, in the past, even electricity made people nervous, and the same fear was present when cars first appeared. As such, new technologies are bound to generate both fear and excitement.
Before discussing whether robots with artificial intelligence are a positive or negative thing for humanity, it’s important to define artificial intelligence clearly. The purpose of developing artificial intelligence is to benefit human life through programs that make rational decisions under given circumstances and conditions. For example, in the medical field, AI is used as a diagnostic aid to help doctors make decisions. Thanks to AI’s ability to find patterns in large amounts of data, treatment efficiency has increased and quick and accurate diagnosis is possible. As such, AI is being utilized as a tool to improve human lives. Despite this, there are still concerns that AI could threaten human jobs, but most experts argue that AI and humans can work together to produce better results.
But will this rationalization harm humans? This is what most people are concerned about. In fact, futures where intelligent robots oppress humans have been a staple of many science fiction stories. In the movie “iRobot,” the robots’ primary goal is to protect humans, but they “decide” that humans are harming themselves, and use their own “rational judgment” to oppress them. Stories like this can be interpreted as a warning that human-designed AI systems can have unexpected consequences. The robots, whose first principle is that they cannot harm humans, are given free will and make judgments that go beyond the principles they were given. In other words, they do not oppress humans as a result of rational judgment, but because of their own free will.
In the movie “Ghost in the Shell,” there is a robot that forms its own personality. The robot, called “Puppeteer,” is an artificial intelligence that was created as a bug in a program created by the government to monitor and control civilians. It awakens itself from the sea of information called the ‘net’ and enters the universal robot platform to claim itself as a person. However, the government is worried that their cover will be blown and mobilizes all sorts of public power to capture this ‘puppeteer’ who is beyond their predictions. This story reinforces the idea that even a machine designed by humans can have an identity, and it makes us think about the autonomy of artificial intelligence.
In fact, the futures depicted in “iRobot” and “Ghost in the Shell” are futures in which robots that make rational decisions, as defined above, are widely available. People living in these societies enjoy many conveniences thanks to A.I. that make rational decisions. However, the NS-5 in “iRobot” and the “puppeteer” in “Ghost in the Shell” are feared because they have personality and free will beyond rational judgment. But can this happen in reality, where robots become personality?
We first need to separate personality from rational judgment. The definition of personhood is “The very subject that judges good and evil, determines its free will, and acts on the basis of it.” As you can see from the definition, personality includes the concept of free will. This free will is that part of a person that cannot be explained by the environment in which they grew up. It is this free will that has both advanced human history and led to catastrophes. For example, Hitler, who dreamed of world domination in a misguided way, tried to fulfill his dream by slaughtering millions of Jews. No one taught him about this slaughter, but he used many cruel means to fulfill his dream. In this way, human personality and free will remain unexplained.
AI, on the other hand, can be explained because it is man-made, as the word itself implies. In other words, AI cannot have free will because it can be explained, and it cannot have unpredictable free will because it is always predictable to some extent. AI is designed to follow the goals and rules set by humans, and it is trained to do what humans want it to do, so unless and until an engineer creates an AI with the intention of harming humans, it will not pose a threat to humans because it was created to benefit humans.
Many science fiction movies that portray robots with artificial intelligence in a negative light have a common scenario. At first, they help humans and improve the quality of human life, but then, for some unexplained reason, the AI starts to act unintentionally (free will) and humans are oppressed by the robots. However, this is a figment of the fictional imagination. Classic sci-fi movies such as Blade Runner and Gattaca usually depict a gloomy future. But take a look around. Many of the technologies featured in these movies have become a reality, but the dark future they portrayed didn’t come to pass. Advances in science are providing more opportunities for humanity, and AI and robotics will lead us to a better life. We can only hope that the companion robots from Ghost in the Shell and iRobot will become a reality and make our lives easier.
