Conclusion
Still the question
remains, do humans create robots to serve them or to replace them?
Part of the
answer to this question lies in what sorts of robots are in use today. Movies are using real robots with increasing
frequency. The recent Lost in Space movie used a real, extremely heavy
robot that could be programmed to repeat a specific sequence of actions to make filming
scenes easier. The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) uses robots on a regular basis.
Small robots have been landed on the surface of Mars, and launched into deep
space to gather information amongst other uses.
The most prolific use
of robots today is in factories. Many
companies around the world have replaced human assembly lines with robotic ones, each
robotic “station” programmed to do a specific task. None of these robots are intelligent, of course,
but the day when they can be given limited intellects is not far off.
Another part of
the answer to this question lies in literature and film.
The robots in R.U.R. were not
initially intended to replace humans, yet they end up doing so anyway. The robots in Isaac Asimov’s stories, Blade Runner and the (amongst others) were most
certainly designed to replace humans in hazardous jobs.
In the Star Wars trilogy and some
of Asimov’s stories we see robots which are intended to replace humans in places
where training is expensive and time consuming.
While
replacing humans with robots is not completely feasible in the modern world, scientists
are working to create ever more intelligent robots that could do some of the same jobs
that humans do. These improvements in
robotics will probably be accompanied by the creation of a branch of the police (or
perhaps the military) to deal with out of control robots.
Will we ever see robots acting as police?
Perhaps, but not until robots are as intelligent and flexible as human
beings.
So,
in conclusion, I can only conclude that humans do indeed create robots to replace us. Is this a good thing? Perhaps. I
would certainly prefer to see robots fighting wars rather than humans. Robots could be used to do things that are
otherwise hazardous to humans, such as dealing with toxic substances or repairing things
in the vacuum of space. Only time will tell.