The World in 2030

276 The World in 2030
Scientists have criticised a government report which
advocated a debate on granting rights to super-intelligent
robots in the future as ‘a distraction’. They say
the public should instead be consulted over the use
of robots by the military and police, as carers for the
elderly and as sex toys.
The robotics experts were commenting on a report
published by the Office of Science and Innovation’s
Horizon Scanning Centre in December. The authors
of ‘Robo-rights: Utopian dream or rise of the machines?’
wrote: ‘If artificial intelligence is achieved
and widely deployed (or if they can reproduce and
improve themselves) calls may be made for human
rights to be extended to robots.’ 495
So where are we now in the development of intelligent
robots and how long will it be before you really are able to
buy the longed-for robot butler of popular imagination?
Understanding the complexities of human movement
(especially walking) and translating that into algorithms
that could control motors and servos within robots was
a lot more difficult and took much longer than many
roboticists first imagined it would. But finally, the
problems of movement and articulation are being solved,
as the ubiquitous TV adverts for Honda’s stair-climbing
‘Asimo’ 496 reveal.
But one of the biggest problems in robotics is ensuring that
whatever happens, robots can’t deliberately or accidentally
cause damage to humans. Infallible and unbreakable control