Are Robots useful to the world

THESIS: The benefits of robotics outweigh the disadvantages. Every new technological advance has potential for harm. Technological advances should be adapted with caution and consideration, but we should never dismiss the challenge of a new technology simply because we detect potential drawbacks. I like to use fire as a metaphor when considering a new technology. When humans first gained control of fire and began to use fire for warmth, light, cooking, and protection we must have immediately discerned the hazards. If fire is not watched, it can burn out of control. Fire is smokey and the ashes are dirty. Enemies and predators can see and smell a fire from a distance. At some point, we had to ask ourselves if fire was worth the risk. Clearly, the answer was usually yes. So it is with most technological advances since fire. We have to be careful to discover and mitigate the risks of any new technology, but the challenge of progress is compelling and part of the adventure that is human history. Pro has argued that robotics has the disadvantage of making humans lazy. I'll counter by saying that short of imprisonment, no person or thing can make a person lazy. A roomba might require less human effort than vacuuming, but that doesn't mean that the human with extra time is forced to be idle. Instead of vacuuming, a human can be free to pursue other labor or activities, including those that might provide as much or more exertion than vacuuming. Robots might offer humans one more opportunity to prefer idleness, but robots don't force us to be lazy. That's a choice we make for ourselves. Some of the many foreseeable advantages of robotics include:Driverless cars- In fact, this may be the first large scale application of robotics to have a profound effect on modern culture. Google expects driverless cars to be mass produced and legal in some states as early as 2017. Some experts are more pessimistic, but most anticipate that driverless cars will be an option by 2025. Almost every expert expects that the superior safety and savings of driverless cars promote rapid adoption and rapid adaptation to a driverless car infrastructure. Driverless cars have an impeccable safety record. Over a million test miles have been driven without a single accident. The blind, the disabled, the elderly, and the young will be able to enjoy the same advantages of autonomous transportation as the majority. Parking will become far more efficient, resulting in increased real estate availability in populous areas. Eventually traffic jams, stop lights, traffic tickets will all become a thing of the past. There can be little doubt that this will also mean the obsolescence of a couple of million jobs, but this is a challenge we need to learn to overcome. Robotic farm equipment- Robotic tractors and cultivators and seed mills, etc. will greatly improve agricultural efficiency and reduce food prices. Again, job loss will be a major disadvantage which we will need to overcome, but few humans enjoy the back breaking work of industrial sized harvesting. Robotic factories- perhaps the most obvious application of robots, where humans are required to perform mind-numbingly repetitive tasks for low wages. Robots have been employed in factories since the 70's and are clearly positioned to make one of the least pleasant aspects of the industrial revolution obsolete. Robots in health- There is an increasing gap in medicine between the doctors engaged in the science of diagnosis and prescription and the art of nursing, the human element of evaluation and support. As nurses are increasingly called upon to fill that gap, robots can be used to complete the mundane tasks of making beds, cleaning up messes, delivering meals, etc. Robots can be used to resolve all kinds of access and safety problems on behalf of the elderly and disabled. Think of the advantages of a wheelchair that can navigate steps and steep slopes or that can help a person back to their feet when they fall. Military robots- We have already seen the rapid adoption of robots on the dangerous frontlines, particularly in Afghanistan where over 30,000 robots are in use. Obviously, the primary advantages are the safety of soldiers and the precision of robotic tools in deployment. We have already seen the potential blowback in the reaction to drone strikes overseas, but the advantages in saving soldier's lives is undeniable. Robotic police and firefighters- Again, safety is a primary advantage. There are also major efficiencies in being able to deploy a flying drone straight to a fire rather than the time lost and dangers incurred from speeding fire trucks through the streets. Robotic police might be intimidating, but think of all the times police shoot a person because they are worried about their personal safety. A robot can disable a person wielding a weapon without risking police and so save a life. In the next 50 years, we are going to see a major expansion of robotics in our culture. Robots offer humanity the possibility of freeing us from a thousand different repetitive and unpleasant tasks. It is true that humans do not always take the best advantage of such opportunities and humans clearly benefit from the discipline and patience required for practicing such tasks. Nevertheless, history has proved that these tasks have always been relegated to lower and middle classes and the compensation is rarely proportional to the undesirability of the work. Yes, robots will replace these jobs but for the most part these are jobs that few humans desire to do. Robots will free a much wider portion of the population to pursue education, arts, science, research, human development, social improvement and lessen the distinction between social classes. Robots have the potential to introduce revolutionary social improvements to the human condition.