Cruelty To Robots Needs To Be Stopped!

As they become more like humans it appears that cruelty to robots is happening more often. Showing aggression towards machines is not something new. People kick their car when they won’t start, they will bang the vending machine that does not give what they asked for or thump the printer that does not produce a copy.

The difference is that with artificial intelligence progressing at an amazing pace, it will not be too long before cruelty to robots becomes a real problem. Already, DHL, Toyota, Google and Panasonic are just some of the companies that are using autonomous robots by Fetch Robotics.

Some humans have shown hatred and cruelty to robots, often knocking them over or kicking them. It is thought that people do this to keep their feeling of superiority over the bots, but what will happen as bots understand more and perhaps retaliate?

It is only a matter of time before robots will be able to feel this hostility towards them, and if they return the treatment, will they be charged with assault and battery? Will they be legally responsible for causing an injury or damage to someone’s goods? Would this be a criminal or civil law case? Should the robot’s developers be held responsible? There are so many questions about this situation, but it is likely to happen sooner rather than later.

No Legal Redress For Cruelty To Robots

Acts of violence towards machines have no legal redress unless the owner sues for damage caused. Robots have no legal rights at all. However, as we are making them more and more like humans, they are likely to have more reactions like ours as well as feelings.

It is humans that are producing robots that can think like humans and feel like humans, so some people are suggesting they should have some of the same rights as humans too. If they are going to be programmed with human frailties, surely they need to be protected in the workplace, just like all the other workers are.

There are still far more questions than answers. For instance, how will robots teat each other? Can they be programmed to be racist or sexist? As Amazon has learned, they can unintentionally cause problems. They were using a recruiting engine that vetted top talent to speed up the process. However, although the AI system was not programmed to discriminate against anyone, it taught itself not to include any women. Amazon scrapped the project as soon as they realized what was happening, but this is a typical example of how AI can progress without it being realized.

If businesses want robots integrated to take over some of the mundane tasks, as well as dealing with other more advanced work, there may need to be a set of labor laws to protect them, and this is not something that is for the future, it is a subject that needs dealing with now.