The ethical implications of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are mainly concerned with new technologies. Most of the concerns are quaint, while some have been wrongly predicted. With technological advancement across the globe, humans seek ways that they can use to make their work easier. The discovery of robots and artificial intelligence technology is taking over. Robots have taken over most of the operations that are supposed to be conducted by humans. In the industries, robots have taken over the manufacturing processes. At home, there are artificial technologies like Siri and Google Voice that have been companions to humans. Even in the transport sector, a combination of robotic and artificial intelligence has led to self-drive cars. Some forecasting of robots and AI's future have been wrong as they suggest there will be a fundamental change in humans. For example, predictions indicate that telephones will interrupt personal communication among humans, and writing will destroy memory. However, other technology predictions are accurate, such as the destruction of industries as humans will lose their jobs. Some technologies such as nuclear power and self - drive cars have resulted in ethical and political discussions. The focus has been on policies that can control the direction that robotics and artificial intelligence will take. Other than the ethical concerns, the technology is equally posing a challenge to norms and conceptual systems present in society. Understanding the moral effects of the technology is not enough. There is also a need to analyze the community's response on the same. That includes the laws and regulations that are involved. The ethics of AI and robotics have been a critical concern in recent years, especially among the millennials. Despite robots and AI technology's existence to improve humans' lives, ethical problems arise on safety and reliability if they become conscious.
Artificial intelligence is understood as a computer system that shows all intelligent behavior. Robots use AI technology for their operations. However, despite being smart enough, they lack consciousness, which differentiates robots from humans. Robots don't have emotions, and neither do they respond to feelings (Abowd, 2017). Humans have the role of providing the robots with consciousness to be more effective in their operations. However, a key challenge is the implication of the process. If robots have the needed consciousness, then it means they will be able to make decisions for themselves. At the moment the robotics and AI technology relies on humans' commands to execute actions. But if they have conscious, they will perform some of the operations without humans' request. A critical ethical issue that arises from the matter is privacy and surveillance. There has been the development of the digital sphere such that data collection and storage are done digitally. Humans' lives have shifted to being digital, and most of the information is connected to a single internet interface. It is the same technology that is used in robots. They are all connected to an interface that assists them in the execution of commands. However, they cannot relay any information to a third party since they have to receive the users' orders. If the robots had consciousness, they could forward the confidential and private information to a third party even without the users' command. There is an issue in determining who collects data and who will have access (Simpson & Vincent, 2016). Most of the AI technologies deal with the amplification of an already known issue. For instance, there is face recognition that uses photos or videos. The technology will only relay information to recognize the user's face as it gives it a command.
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In the absence of control, artificial intelligence will grant access to any user that presents themselves. The ethical issue surrounding AI and robotics is beyond the accumulation of information and the direction that needs to be taken. It is possible to use the information in the manipulation of behavior to undermine rational choices. The efforts towards manipulating behavior are analogue, but they may gain a contemporary design using AI systems and robotics. Active prevention of the consciousness of robots is the duty of humans, and it is one of the ways that the ethical issue of behavior manipulation can be handled. For example, marketers and advertisers can use any legal means within their reach to maximize gains, even if it means exploitation of behavioral biases or deception. The action is only possible if the AI technology has conscious. There will be a cartel of gaming and gambling industries taking advantage of the conscious AI technology (Dressel & Hany, 2018). At the moment, it is tough to manipulate the AI system and Robots because they lack consciousness. If humans were to provide the technology with consciousness, they would think and act like humans, making manipulating behavior easy. The main effect will be loss of control over the technology. Robots and AI are intelligent and faster than humans in the execution of commands and carrying out operations. If consciousness is induced, they become more powerful than humans. There will be a turn of events such that the AI and the robots are the ones that will be manipulating human behavior. They will take charge and control everything. The improved versions of the AI will turn reliable evidence to be unreliable to protect themselves. That has already happened in sound recordings, photos, and even videos, and the situation will be worse if humans decide to provide both AI and robots with the needed consciousness.
Opacity and being biased are primary issues when considering if the AI and robots need to have conscious. The problem is sometimes referred to as data ethics. The only decision-making process that artificial intelligence can engage in is automated. There are protocols to be followed before an AI can make a decision. The issue is inbuilt in robots, and AI systems usually place during the programming stage (Omohundro, 2014). Thus, it is even possible to predict the following action that an AI or robot will take based on the outcomes. However, including consciousness is a way of establishing a lack of due process, accountability in the community, and auditing. There will be a power structure where the decision-making process limits humans' participation and contribution (Omohundro, 2014). For instance, it will be like asking a fellow human to answer a question since the robots can now think and behave like humans. There will be no dues process to be followed; instead, they will think independently and provide outcomes based on what they believe is right. There will be a breach of all protocols of obeying commands. It will also not be possible for the affected human to determine how the AI system or robot came up with the output (Dignum, 2018). The course will be opaque to the user. If there are machine learning and communication, then the situation will be even complicated as the experts' outputs will be unclear. It will not be possible to know how a particular pattern was identified or even the design's nature. The opacity is the reason behind the accelerated biased decision making. In cases where there is a need to eliminate ambiguity and biasness, AI and robots should not be granted consciousness. Instead, they should rely on commands from programming and protocols in making decisions.
The decision-making process of the AI systems and robots is through predictive analysis. The operation of data and production of outputs is based on the interactions provided. A wide range of products might be supplied, ranging from relatively trivial to high significance (Macnish, 2017). In most instances, the production of outputs is about the users' preference or providing the commands. The predictive analysis of AI systems is used in businesses, healthcare facilities and foreseeing future development. If humans take charge in providing AI and robots with conscious the narrative will change. One of the critical gains of predictive analysis is that it is cheap and easy, especially in predicting policies. However, having a conscious AI is posing a threat and fear to public liberties. There will be an erosion of rights since it will be possible to take any power from individuals who easily predict their behavior. Most of the issue that arises from policy prediction using a conscious AI is on futuristic occasions. The law enforcers will be punishing people for a crime that has not yet occurred instead of waiting for the criminal activity to take place (Calo, 2018). There will be the perpetuation of biasness in the data used in the creation of the system. For example, there will be an increase in police patrol in a specific area and the realization of more crime. It will appear that there is a particular population or community that is being targeted. The main concern of predictive policing is usually on which place and at what time police forces are required. Equally, it is possible to provide the law enforcers with enough data to assist them in the decision-making process. That will not be possible if the AI has conscious as most of the judgment to be made will be unfair, and the actions will be under the influence of emotions and the irrelevant issue that need to be handled.
Another biasness that can exist if the AI and robots have conscious is on the system errors. It is possible to have biasness in a single set of data if there is a single issue that has not been addressed. The mistakes and biasness are easily detected by robots and AI's when in operation. If humans provide them with consciousness, they are likely to ignore the errors based on history. A key concern is on the humans – robots' interaction. AI can make humans believe and do things and provide direction to robots, which appear to be problematic. Treating robots as humans will be a violation of human dignity. Humans are prone to make errors in their daily operations. However, there is also a notion that robots cannot make errors and they are more accurate, which is not always the case (Bertolini & Giuseppe, 2018). Therefore, if they are treated as humans, it will replace the roles people play in each other's lives. Humans live as a community, and they are very close to each other. The aspect of being one is what creates the human perception. That is something that an AI cannot replace. However, there are many good deeds that AI and robots have played in the lives of humans. The main one has been to offer directions and companionships such as the latest AI technology of Siri. But the help has terminated the connection that has been in existence between humans since medieval times. For instance, the AI Siri technology was developed to help the elderly in the community with their daily operations. The technology has been effective in delivering the intended objectives but at the same time has led to the violation of humanity. People have neglected the elderly in the community as they believe they have the needed assistance. The assistance might be available, but the bond that people create while take care of each other has been broken.
Humans have a long and deep attachment to things that they interact with within life. Thus, companionship with and predictable android is effective, especially among people who struggle to create relationships with other humans. There will likely be an increase in utility, but there is the issue of deception that supports why robots should not be treated and humans (Hakli & Pekka, 2019). At the moment, a robot does not mean what they communicate and cannot develop feelings for humans. On the other hand, individuals are prone to feelings and entities, even inanimation of objects with no intentions. The information being provided by robots is usually correct as they rely on databases such as the internet to provide their answers. However, if they have conscious, they will no longer need the database for reference to make their judgment. If that is the case, it will be easy to deceive anyone if they are treated as humans.There will be a high level of mistrust and inefficiency in operations. It is better to leave them as robots as they are more reliable. Human nature is complicated, and treating robots as humans will be complicating issues even more. Another case of treating robots and humans is on the biasness of responsibility and parenthood. Among humans, there is the issue of accountability. If someone does something wrong and displeasing to others, they can ask for forgives and take charge as a way of being accountable (Baldwin, 2019). That is something that cannot be present in robots even if they are treated as humans. They cannot take responsibility for anything as they will not be able to parent like humans. Lastly, humans learn from when they are born to when they reach adulthood. In creating robots, it is not possible to develop baby robots that will grow into adulthood. Thus, treating them as humans will not make the situation better as they lack the needed experience in decision-making. The actions that humans create are mainly influenced by the experiences they went through while growing up. Robots will decide for themselves if they have consciousness, but it will not be as precise as that made by humans as they don't have the growing up experience.
In conclusion, AI, and robots have been of significant influence on the life of humans. They are practical and efficient in their operations because they lack human consciousness. They largely depend on directions to be provided by humans, and they work to execute the given commands. Providing AI and robots with consciousness will change the dynamics, and they will have the same capacity as humans. Several ethical considerations will arise from the matter. A key concern will be the decision-making process. Robots and AI will indeed make personal decisions without receiving commands from humans, but the issues of biasness will arise. Most of the decisions made will be based on the history of the robots of the AI database. Therefore, even the detection of errors will be an issue as they are likely to ignore. There will be a decrease in the level of operations and overreliance on the AI system. Equally, privacy is already an issue even if the robots and AI don't have consciousness. The situation will be worse if they are provided with consciousness. They can quickly relay information to any unauthorized individual as they decide for themselves. Based on the discussion above, robots and AI systems should not be provided with consciousness or referred to as humans despite the many gains and increased operations level.
References
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