China's future robotics development
- By Eugene Clark
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 11, 2014
• Regulatory and licensing issues raised by robots in the home, the office, in public spaces (e.g. roads), and in specialized environments such as hospitals.
• There will be privacy issues especially relating to robots that are collecting or using data in personally sensitive areas such as health care delivery and national security. Other privacy issues will come about as a result of robotic intrusions, e.g. drones spying on backyards and into houses where people would traditionally expect privacy.
• There will be intellectual property issues to be resolved, especially given the newness of the industry and its rapid growth and development in a competitive environment.
• Where a robot is involved in a professional area such as medical diagnosis or other professional advice, there will be ethical and legal issues related to licensure, agency and scope of permitted activity to be resolved.
• Given that a robot is a "product" there will be product liability and insurance issues to sort out. For example, what is the liability should a doctor deploy robotic surgery and a patient is severely injured by a mal-functioning robotic device. There has already been one such lawsuit in the United States.
• International issues. As the impact of robots goes across national borders there is likely to emerge the need for international agreement, an example being moves to restrict the use of drones.
The second major challenge to the advancement of robotics is the need to resolve related political and social issues. The impact of robotics will create winners and losers. Those groups who see their livelihoods threatened by robotics will resist the changes which affordable and widespread use of robots will bring. There is also a danger that advances in robotics will further increase the income disparities which are already wide and growing in China. At the very moment when more and more citizens are looking forward to joining a more prosperous middle class, robotics may take away that dream for some.
There will also be moral and ethical concerns as the distance and relationship between man and machine becomes increasingly blurred. Indeed, in "Love and Sex With Robots" (Harper Perennial), David Levy contends that by 2050, some people will even choose to marry robots. He submits that by then human like "android" robots will be serving as babysitters, health care facilitators and interacting with humans in new and imaginative ways that will lead to a redefinition of the relationship between robots and humans.
Finally, the thought of robots expanding exponentially will raise the spectre of an emotional hurdle to be overcome. While Japan seems to be exceptional in its positive attitude towards robotics, in other societies the rapid expansion of robotics is very threatening and gives rise to strong negative emotions. While computers in movies such as "Wall-E" and "R2-D2" conjure up positive reactions, Huey, Louie, and Dewie (from "Silent Running"), the gunslinger (from "Westworld", "The Terminator"), the replicant Roy Batty in "Blade Runner" and "Hal 9000" (from "2001: A Space Odyssey") portend a more ominous and threatening future in a future world where robots govern many aspects of our lives.
The robots are coming and their clanking and machine noises are getting louder. It is hoped that nations like China will be proactive in providing the legal, political and social infrastructure to enable these new industries to reach their full potential while also ensuring against abuses and dangers.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/eugeneclark.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn
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