Robots and AI: the works of Smith, Asimov, Sanger and Greider

  Section A 

2. 

Robots are autonomous machines that can act independently without any external command. Artificial intelligence, on the other hand, is a kind of software that can learn and self-improve. In most cases, robots can make use of artificial intelligence to make improvements and to enhance their autonomous functions through learning. Based on this, artificial intelligence is a computer program that has been designed to carry out the tasks that require the use of human intelligence while robots are a machine that can complete a complete task. While artificial intelligence can be used to control robots, the two are different 

2. 

The first Asimov’s law of robot is that a robot may not injure a human being or even allow a human being to come to harm through its actions. In the second law, Asimov notes that robots must obey the orders given to it by human beings unless in situations where such orders can cause a conflict with the first law. In the third law, Asimov states that robots must protect their existence as long as such kind of protection does not conflict with either the first or the second law. The three laws of robots givesuggestions on how the robots should operate in an ideal sense. 

1. 

Other than feeding people, the feeding machine will eliminate the lunch hour, increase production and reduce the overhead. The increase in production occurs as a result of the elimination of the lunch hour that the employees spend time on thus consuming the working hours. It would thus be advantageous to the management because it saves time that is usually spent by the employees during lunch hours. By saving time and increasing the production, Billows feeding machine helps decrease the overhead costs in the long run. 

1. 

Margaret Sanger devoted most of her career life struggling to legalize birth control and making it universally available for women. She came into limelight during the Comstock Act, a federal statute that had made the use of contraceptives illegal. Sanger believed that the way to change the law was to break it. She had the ambitions of finding the best contraceptive that could relieve women from unwanted pregnancies. Her commitment was based on her tragedy and a series of botched abortions, and she thought it was time to relieve women from all these sorts of unwanted pregnancies. 

1. Greider named his article “These dark satanic mills” to reflect the poor treatment of the poor people by the rich. His article brings in the attention to the poor working conditions and low pay that takes place worldwide. May factories hire people from society and exploit them through hard labor and low pay so that they can make huge profits. These wealthy individuals not only allow the workers to work in extremely poor conditions but also pay them low wages. The title thus reflects the poor working conditions, low pay and other unfair treatments by the wealthy towards the rich. 

Section B 

1 . 

Bill Gates grew up in a prosperous area of Seattle in Washington together with his parents and two sisters. He came from a well of a family of a lawyer and a teacher. Having attended public grade school and then the Lakeside school, Gates’ interest in computer started while he was still very young. While he did not come from a business family, Gates developed his business ambitions on computer programing that later led to his rise in the technology field. This educational background contributed to his business ambitions and led to his current success as a business owner in the world. 

2 . 

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution provides that “t he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Because this amendment prevents any unwarranted search to the houses and public property of citizens, it hinders the need for the government to do surveillance on its citizens. To conduct surveillance, it is necessary that the government search the houses of citizens, a move which is against the fourth amendment of the constitution. 

4. 

Roland meant that even though modern military technology has been introduced, it is still the dark side of innovation even as it has significance in wars. By being different in degree, Roland means that modern military technology has led to the introduction of better weapons that enhances war. The introduction of the missile, microwave radar and aircraft are some of the weapons that have enhanced war. However, modern military technology remains to be the same dark side of innovation as was the traditional military technology. 

5. 

Sir Ken Robinson states that the world has witnessed a dramatic change yet the US education system has not changed much over the last many years. What worked in the previous generations is not currently a best practice. He, therefore, criticizes the current education system as something that has remained unchanged,yet the world continues to change. Similarly, the education system according to Robinson values the academic intelligence and fails to discover, celebrate and leverage the unique strengths of the children. He criticizes the current system as being over-reliance on the academic intelligence and ignoring other significant strengths of the children that need to be appreciated. 

6 . 

One of the ways to reduce global warming is to minimize the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere. This can be done by expanding the use of renewable sources of energy and then transform the energy system to one that depends less on fossil fuel which increases pollution. It can also be reduced by increasing the fuel efficiency of the vehicles and also introduce other means that can reduce the use of oil. Planting trees and reducing deforestation is also one way that can be used to minimize the problem of global warming. 

8. 

Technological development affects the way people live, how they understand things and moral values and principles. Issues such as privacy have been affected by technological advancement and by accessing the information, the respect for privacy is reduced. The distribution of materials over the internet has led to the loss of moral values and ethics in society. The changes in the moral contacts pattern have also influenced the moral development of people. 

Section C. 

1. 

I think Asimov will agree with the video documentary of the world war A. he states that we are faced with the situation in which the earth has no space thus the need to expand. Asimov notes that human beings are ready to move beyond the earth and explore other spaces. He states that“I think we are ready. We have the technological capacity to do so; all that we need is the will. I think it is quite possible, starting now, to build settlements in space, to build the world’s miniature in comparison to the Earth but large in comparison to anything we have done so far. These worlds, in orbit around the Earth, would be capable of holding tens of thousands of human beings.” He seems to agree with the idea that people could soon move to other planets away from the earth. 

2 . 

The author examines the practices of the labor platforms across the ridehail, care and cleaning industries in the US. The labor platform companies usually frame their value by appealing the democratization potential of technology to connect people with entrepreneurial work. The author notes that the relationship between stability and professional identity has been very complex for care and cleaning work. He notes that even those who have become professionals in a certain field can be unstable and precarious. The author notes that even some of the labor platforms of the future may resemble care. Automation has been at the forefront of the major efforts and changes that have taken place so far in the industry. The labor platform companies usually base their value on the need to connect people. 

3 . 

The behavioral changes from one generation to the next takes place gradually. The current generation has never experienced a life without internet. Most of the young people spend most of their time on the internet and social media. While this may be considered an advantage, the serious effects of it havebeen overlooked. According to Twenge, constant access to the internet can lead to the disruption of the mental well-being of children. The excessive use of smartphones and time spent on the internet by the youth has led to the disruption of a sense of self. Every time, young people are on the internet,and this keeps off their minds from other crucial activities. Some evidence suggests that the continued use of social media can have adverse effects on the mental health of the children. The sudden arrival of smartphones has radically changed every aspect of the lives of youth, from the nature of their social interaction to mental health. 

4. 

Foucault discusses Bentham’s Panopticon which involves a building with a tower at the center from where it is possible to see every cell where a prisoner is locked. Based on this, Foucault discusses visibility as a trap where every individual cannot communicate with the prisoners. There is a possibility that the panopticon is based on the Versailles. The aim is to make power more effective and economical as it leads to the development of the economy, spread of education and improving the public morality. The author develops the idea that discipline can be spread through to the whole society and by providing a formula for the functioning of the society. 

6. 

Technology has completely changed the way people meet, play, work, interact and do business. With the use of computers, human beings in society can interact and live together through this social change. The way people interact and communicate has been made easy by the emergence of computers. Even businesses can now be conducted on the internet. Social media sites have increased the speed at which people interact and share. Young people can easily get linked and interact with each other on social media. As a result, the whole society has become a stable arrangement of institutions where human beings in society interact and live together. People are now connected through computers and communication has been made easy. This has led to social stratification where people are divided into various levels based on certain factors. Those people who have embraced technology are now on one stratum and the baby boomers who haven’t embraced it on the other side.