The Runaround plot, a science fiction story published in 1942 by writer and biochemist Isaac Asimov, is becoming a reality. Asimov, established 3 basic laws with which robots had to be designed to prevent them from rebelling against their creators, humans. It pointed out that if any of these three rules were breached, the robot would shut down immediately.
- A robot will neither harm a human being nor, through inaction, allow a human being to be harmed.
- A robot must obey orders given by humans, except if these orders conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence to the extent that this protection does not conflict with the first or second Law.
Following the path of the three basic laws of Asimov , the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament has got down to work and has presented a report, which establishes a series of proposals to regulate the advancement of robotics.
The development, by leaps and bounds, of artificial intelligence and robotics, is a fact and as such it is necessary to adapt to this new reality and establish ethical standards that normalize their use.
Without a doubt, all this could still seem like a chimera, but we are talking about a world in which there are already cars that do not need a driver, and in which there is a latent concern that in the futurethe work of machines could replace that of humans. Given this fact, alarms have been raised and the possibility of implementing auniversal basic income.
The issues raised in this report are fundamental. One of the most significant is to consider certain robots as electronic people and as such they would have rights and obligations. Owners of robotic technology are also advised to use it wisely, preventing it from causing any kind of harm to human beings. For this they ask for the creation of a European agency, dedicated especially toregulate artificial intelligence.Another of the most striking points: it specifies that the robots must be equipped with a death button, which allows them to be deactivated in an emergency.
The report even raises the possibility that robots could exceed the capabilities of humans within a few decades. Here the concept oftechnological uniqueness, heard of in 1993 at a NASA conference, in which the mathematician Vernor Vinge stated something as alarming as: “Thirty years from now, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Soon after, the era human will be over. “
We will still have to wait a few years to see if such a catastrophic statement could come true, and if really “the ultra-intelligent machine” as the mathematician called it, it will be far superior to the one.human mind.
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