Man vs Robots by Aryaman Kumar

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – What are robots?

Chapter 2 – What are the similarities and differences between man and robot?

Chapter 3 – Pros and Cons of Man and Robot

Chapter 4- Artificial Intelligence.

Conclusion

Glossary

Introduction

Robots may sound very cool but do we actually understand how they work? Men on the other are less complex. Today you will read about Man vs. Robot - The evolution of robots, the similarities and differences, and even artificial intelligence all in this one book.

Chapter 1

What are Robots?

Do we really know what they are? Lets find out together!

The word “ Robot “ comes from the Czech word “Robota” meaning drudgery. A robot is a mechanical or virtual agent, usually an electromechanical machine that is guided by a computer program. George Devol invented the first robot in 1954. It was named the Unimate. Although Leonardo Da Vinci drew up plans for an armored humanoid as early as 1495! Engineer Mark Rosheim has created a miniature one to help NASA colonize Mars.

Robots have only been around for a 100 years but are already taking over many jobs. Car washing, factory workers, automatic cars, warbots have become common. Now robots can even respond to emotion and the smell of fine wines! More than a million industrial robots are already in use, half of them in Japan.

What will happen to humanity? Will they turn against us and many more similar questions are rushing through our heads.

Chapter 2

Similarities and differences between Men and Robot.

Both men and robot are alike yet not the same. Firstly lets start with the similarities.

Both men and robots have an energy source. While we eat to give us energy, the robots get energy from a source like a battery, solar power, an electrical wall unit or a chemical reaction.

Next both men and robots need senses. Man has touch, smell, hearing, sight and taste. Robots also have the same but not all in one machine. Some robots can sense pressure or touch, hear acoustic levels and patterns (hearing), chemical composition analysis (taste). Others can detect electro- optics and pattern recognition (sight) and gas chromography or smell.

Now, what are the differences between the two? The major one is that man has emotions. If we do a good job or do something fun we are happy, excited or motivated. We can also feel sad or depressed at times when things go wrong. So while men can laugh, cry, jump for joy, a robot does not feel. We can never be able to look at a robot and guess his emotion or even figure what expression it has. The net difference between them is that man is multifunctional. We can swim, write, paint, cook, invent, play an instrument and they all can be done by the same person. Robots on the other hand can only do what they are built for.

Pros and Cons of Men vs. Robot.

Both men and robots have its advantages and disadvantages. Lets start with some of the pros and cons of robots.

The main pros of robots are in their abilities, productivity and precision.

Abilities: In the recent past robots have started to do more and more difficult work, which cannot be done by man.

Productivity: Since robots do not have emotions, they will not tire and as a result work for longer time periods than us. They are not distracted by sadness, illness or even thoughts of a birthday etc. They are therefore more productive as they only concentrate on the job they were given

Precision: Robots are much more precise than men. This is due to their machine hands. They do not tremble or shake. That’s why some robots are used for very important precise surgeries.

Dangerous work; Robots can be sent to any harsh or difficult environment where men cannot go. E.g. space travel, deep-sea travel even fire fighting and war drones have been made.

The cons or disadvantages of having Robots is that many of them have taken over so many jobs. The more jobs the robots take over, the more people loose their jobs. This will mean many people will be unemployed and not have money for their families.  Another very important disadvantage of Robots is their lack of emotion. This so called pro of the robot can work hugely to its disadvantage as well. No emotion means no human interaction. This will make them extremely dangerous in certain areas especially in wars etc. as they may accidently hurt civilians.

For centuries from humans have thought outside the box. They have invented so many things yes, including the robot. From the wheel to the light bulb by Thomas Alva Edison, from aero planes by the Wright Brothers to simple things like paper and post its. All have been ideas that have come from thinking people who make and create every day.

Hardworking –Even though men do not have superpowers, they have built so many structures and items, which take months and sometimes even years. We still wouldn’t give up.

Lets take a look at the cons: -

Addictive –Ever since social media has come about, nobody cares about what is happening outside our little circle. It is an addictive habit where people waste a lot of time,

We are also becoming more and more greedy and want whatever new phone, watch or gadget that comes out in the market. I think we should sometimes put ourselves in a poor mans shoes and be happy with what we have.

Pollution -We are slowly destroying our own world. The more machines the more factories and the more pollution.

What is artificial intelligence?

The larger question that worries and concerns us is artificial intelligence. Can robots take away our ability to think, create and learn? Can they be smarter and more powerful than us humans?

Artificial Intelligence is also known as AI. It is the intelligence that is exhibited by machines. This is what makes it so scary. It can easily hack into anyone’s bank account and even start a nuclear war. Currently AI is used only in chess and self-driving cars but it is getting more and more evolved. The main goals for AI are reasoning, knowledge, and planning, learning, communications and to move objects. AI has a long history but it is always evolving and changing.

Someone correctly said, “ With artificial intelligence we are summoning the devil.”

Conclusion

The future is something no one knows but everyone thinks that it will eventually lead to a battle between the machines and the humans. Movies like Terminator and its series have added to this hype. People believe that there will come a time when the robots will completely control the world. What will happen to us then? Will they turn against us? Will we survive the onslaught of the machines? Well, we just have to wait for the future and see. However there is always hope. In the words of Sarah Conner from the movie Terminator “ The luxury of hope was given to me by the Terminator. Because if a machine can value human life, maybe we can too.