Nanobots could run amuck, turning everything including us into a gray goo, or be used deliberately as a horrific weapon. Another possibility is the nightmare scenario imagined by playright Capek. Even Bill Joy, chief scientist for computer firm Sun Microsystems, has warned that we ought to consider banning research in nanotechnology and robotics. Some in the robotics field say the danger of robots turning on us is far away or may never become a reality. Roger Arrick has no doubt our droids will remain docile.
Robots are just machines.
Humans will not tolerate dangerous robots in their homes any more than they will tolerate bad brakes on their cars or dangerous elec-trical fixtures next to their bathtubs. Bajcsy, though, says there needs to be a lot of education about possible threats from robotics, and believes researchers have to exercise self- control. She herself worries that an era of complete automation may erode one of humankind s greatest traits the practice of kindness. Bajcsy suggests it would be a shame if people stopped making dinner for one another, as she and her husband now do. Technology should not take over our lives.