Fiction, Robotics and Ethics
Cairo Rocha, Jean M. Winter, Luiz Otávio Oliveira, Renan Maffei
Resume The science fiction and computing have always gone hand in hand. Since antiquity,
man held by fictional desires to produce machines and robots that facilitate tasks and imagined
artificial life forms created by mankind. Since the beginning of the twentieth century these
desires have teamed up with technology, where the impacts of the development of computers
and robots have been imagined by various writers and many of these works helped build the
current reality. The axis of fiction, ethics and robotics will explore questions such as how close
the technology is what is dreamed for so many years the fiction and the "prophecies" will take
place or not, and also what are the ethical issues involved if it can be creating conscious
machines.
1. Fiction
1.1. Start
Man has always had the desire to create artificial life, and this was achieved primarily in
fiction. The most famous are the golems, mythical creatures created from magic. Adam, the
first man according to the Bible and the Qur'an, before receiving the breath of life from the
Creator was a lifeless body, a golem.
Images: Golem_by_Philippe_Semeria
Pinocchio, the 1883 novel by Carlo Collodi, was carved out of wood and received the breath of
life from the Blue Fairy, but also wanted to have a body of real boy, because he suffered at the
hands of other kids for being different. The Frankenstein monster, the 1831 novel by Mary
Shelley, was created from the remains of corpses and, similar to Pinocchio, and seek approval
of mankind, after repeated rejections, he orders his creator makes it a wedding so they can
live in peace isolates.
Images: karloff-frankenstein and Pinocchio
1.2. History
The term "robot" appeared in 1920 Part Rossum's Universal Robots, Karel Capek, where there
are artificial persons who think for themselves and may even be mistaken for humans.
The film Metropolis (1927) Fritz Lang shows the character Future, who became the most
representative figure of android (gynoid in fact, female android). Future infiltrates between
angry workers of a dystopian reality with the mission of promoting hatred among the working
class. She replaces Mary, a worker who mediates the relationship between workers and
masters. An example of robot-as-pathos, servile robots that obey cruel breeders.
Images : RUR-Capek-1920, metropolis2
1.3. Literature
Hugo Gersback, creator of the term science fiction, helped in popularizing the historical and
authors through the publication of the popular magazine Amazing Stories. Similar work was
done later by John Campbell in his Astounding Stories. These publications relied primarily on
stories about science futuristic robots and space travel.
These publications helped to promote modernizing science fiction as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C.
Clarke and Robert Heinlein. Rather than provide us with a kind of anticipation of technology
that could arise, the works of these authors encourage discussions about the limits of the use
of science, about what characterizes a human being, on the future of humanity, etc..
The Robot series by Isaac Asimov (We, Robots, Robots Dreams and Visions of robots) fall in the
popular new insights into the robots, and robot-like-robot-like Menace and Pathos (robots
controlled by humans cruel). In addition to inspiring the work of thousands of scientists and
fiction writers, this work introduced the term robot, created the notion of positronic brain
(brain circuits that produce and dispose of positrons, the robots would have thought schemes
similar to humans) and early discussions of ethical laws for robots.
1.4. Cinema
T-800, T-100 (Terminator): Robots programmed to perform certain actions. Can be considered
tools. They are unable to "think" for themselves and therefore can not answer for their acts. Its
nature depends on your controller / programmer.
Skynet (Terminator), Machinery (Matrix): Computers with advanced artificial intelligence.
Realize that humans are a threat to their safety and decide to destroy them, as self-protection.
HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey) and VIKI (I, Robot): They have their own interpretation of its
policies (scheduled). HAL sees his mission threatened by humans (who want to turn it off) and
in order to perform it successfully, try to kill them. VIKI has four Asimov's laws and policies, but
reinterprets them, leading her to think that to protect mankind (following the law 0) she has to
fight the human sense of self-destructive. This leads to a breaking the law.
Marvin (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Bender (Futurama), Robocop: Robots with human
personality (or remnants thereof, in the case of Robocop) and free will. Robocop is a typical
programmable robot, but has influences from past human life, leading him to think, in some
cases freely.
C3PO and R2D2 (Star Wars), Rosie (Jetson), Wall-E: Robots programmed to perform specific
tasks, but they have human feelings and emotions.
Andrew (Bicentennial Man), Data (Star Trek), Replicants (Blade Runner), David (AI) robots with
free will in search of humanity or proximity to this. The replicants are seeking a way to prolong
its existence beyond its "expiration date" as any living being. Andrew, Date and David look for
a way to catch up with the emotions and feelings displayed by humans. Andrew goes further,
wanting to experience the human frailty caused by aging and death.
2. Ethics and robotics
2.1. Robotics
The term robot dates to the early history, when myths were referring to mechanisms that
came to life. Starting in Greek civilization, the first robot models we found were human-like
figures and / or animal systems that used pneumatic pumps and weights. The civilizations of
that time had no practical or economic necessity, or any complex system of productivity that
would require the existence of such devices.
The term robot comes from the Czech word robota, meaning "forced labor". The robot in this
imaginary world originated in the play the playwright Karel Capek, in which there was a robot
in human form, able to do everything rather than man.
The major catalyst for the development of automata was the Industrial Revolution. With it,
were developed and refined automatic devices able to manipulate and run pieces, allowing the
production automation.
In 1924 came the first model of mechanical robot. Roy J. Wensley, an electrical engineer at
Westinghouse, has developed a control unit supervised. The device could, using the telephone
system, turn on and off or adjust anything that was remotely connected to it. Three years
later, he created the Televox, a small robot with human aspect that could perform basic
movements, according to the commands of its operator.
Elektro was born in 1937. He was also operated and tele obeyed voice commands. The great
development was that Elektro could walk to move the head up and down and sideways. His
arms moved separately and when they "talked" his mouth coordinated movement of words.
He also had photoelectric sensors in the eye, allowing it to distinguish between the colors red
and green. To make the company Elektro, researchers and engineers from Westinghouse
Appliance Division created in 1940, the robot dog Sparky. The two robots traveled the U.S. in
presentations, fairs and shows. Even participated in a film, "Fri Kittens Go to College" in 1960
[2].
Image. Elektro, Westinghouse robot – In this period, smoking was still politically correct.
Industrial robots
With the advancement of electronics and knowledge engineering, machine tools capable of
producing components with high precision (nineteenth century), the availability of multiple
sources of power for actuation (hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical), the concepts of
mechanical transmission, engines, suspensions, the availability of sensors, etc.., allowed the
construction, among other, machines that allow emulate the "human arm" being these very
used in industry.
The first industrial robot, the "Unimate" was developed by George Devol and Joseph
Engelberger in the American company Unimation Inc. (1959-1962). The Unimate was
programmed through a computer and could be used for various applications and
reprogrammed if properly equipped with the proper tools. Although very powerful for the
time, had been perceived that the flexibility and adaptability of this new tool could be
substantially improved by using sensory feedback.
Unimate, first industrial robot
The research continued leading between the 50 and 60 the development of the first computercontrolled robots (with sensory feedback), as the T3 (Tool Of The Future) produced by
Millacron Cincinnati (1974). Many years later the division of Cincinnati Robotics was bought by
ABB still has this line of products (manipulators). Since then evolved very mechanical
manipulators, various control techniques have been proposed glimpsing enhance results and
applications. Currently, a robot handler industrial consists of several rigid links connected in
series by joints, taking one end fixed (base) and another free to move (element terminal). The
joints are usually actuated by electric motors, but also use pneumatic and hydraulic actuators.
Software use sensory signals to calculate the control signals required to obtain the desired
motion, and send signals to the actuators. Current robots are widely used in many automated
manufacturing environments, performing repetitive tasks on assembly lines.
Image. Industrial robots.
Humanoid Robots
A humanoid robot is a robot whose overall appearance is based on the appearance of the
human body, allowing your interaction with tools and environments designed for human use.
In general humanoid robots have a trunk with a head, two arms and two legs, although some
forms of humanoid robots may have only part of the body, for example, from the waist
upwards. Some humanoid robots could also have a "face" with "eyes" and "mouth". Ginóides
and Androids are humanoid robots built to resemble a human aesthetic.
Actroide
Actroide is a humanoid robot developed by Osaka University and manufactured by Kokoro
Company Ltd. (the division of animatronics of Sanrio) that resembles physically to one human
being. It was first shown in 2003 at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. Several
different versions of the product have been produced since then. In most cases, the
appearance of robots was developed based in young women of ancestry Nipponese.
The Actroides is a pioneering example of the machines that science fiction androids or ginóides
calls. She can mimic some functions of living creatures, such as blinking eyes, talking and
breathing. The models "Repliee" are interactive robots with the ability to recognize and
process speech and respond in a similar way.
Image. Actroid-DER_01.
Asimo
ASIMO robot is 1.20 meters tall and 52 kilograms produced by Honda. Your name, curiously, is
not a reference to Russian science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. In Japanese it is pronounced
ashimo ASIMO, which means something like "also with legs." The acronym in English ASIMO
stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, ie, Advanced Development on innovations for
mobility. He can walk on uneven surfaces, turn around, pick things up and recognize people
through their eyes and cameras that work. ASIMO has been upgraded by the engineers at
Honda, which took 17 years working on its development, which fit them so that ASIMO can
now run with smoother motion, reaching a top speed of up to 6.5 kilometers per hour. The
new version presented by Honda on December 11, 2007 shows a communication system that
gives it the ability to work in teams, sharing information and coordinating tasks. Through of the
connection system developed, robots share information such as its location or the task which
play.
Image. Asimo, Honda’s robot.
Aibo
Aibo, the robot dog from Sony, not only interacts with the owner and is able to'' mature'' with
him. A software records and handles the data gathered by its sensors, and provides
appropriate responses. The more it is petted, is more cheerful.
Appearing in 1999, its development and production was discontinued in 2006, hen was already
the third generation. Although it has the aspect of a toy, it is a sophisticated robot not advised
to children.
Image. Aibo, Sony’s puppy robot.
The robot future
What will happen when the robots are smart? Or better, more intelligent than man? Although
the scenario thinking robots be far from reality, the distance, a few years ago seemed infinite,
today is showing signs that it may not be so long. But do we have a clash between the two
species? The concern with the relationship between man and machine, especially in a scenario
in which intelligence is no longer a privilege of only the first is a question that will accompany
us during the next year.
Robotics is a science that currently is in constant and rapid growth, for situations in the past
not far from the present in which we live have been considered science fiction, are now
perfectly possible thanks to the advancement of research in areas such as electronics ,
mechanical, computer and also on Artificial Intelligence
2.2. Ethics
Ethics is the theory or science of moral behavior of men in society. In its broadest sense, the
term "ethics" would involve an examination of the habits of mankind and of his character in
general, and even involve a description or history of human habits in particular societies and at
different times.
The arrival of robots involves studies that allow them to live together harmoniously and
participate in society so as not to bring harm to humans. This is to ensure that human control
over robots and predict the social implications of social interaction, and prevent its illegal use
as weapons of attack and to protect the data on them and establish their identification and
tracking.
The ethics associated with Artificial Intelligence can be analyzed through two different points
of view. The first, frequently reported in fiction is called Machine Ethics, which focuses on the
moral behavior of the robots. The second is a field of study that became popular in the last
decade called Roboética, which deals with the moral concerns that are the responsibility of
designers in the development, construction and use of robots.
More than half a century, Isaac Asimov in his book of fiction, "I, Robot" realized the need to
create ethical rules to define the behavior of robots. Since the proposition, the Three Laws of
Robotics is signed in common sense as the main model example of artificial behavior. They are:
. 1st law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm.
. 2nd law: A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders
would conflict with the First Law
. 3rd Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict
with the First or Second Law
Many authors of fiction, including Asimov himself, exploited ambiguities in the Three Laws of
Robotics creating undesirable situations arising from its use. Asimov imagined even a fourth
law, called Act Zero, which should precede the other:
. A robot may not injure humanity, or through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
Many works of fiction based on the Laws of Robotics. Among them, many works of Asimov, as
the "Bicentennial Man", Andrew where the robot is programmed according to the laws, and "I,
Robot", where the supercomputer VIKI reinterprets laws deciding subjugate humans to protect
them from their self-destructive nature.
In the movie Aliens, 1986, the android Bishop serves the crew of his ship according to Asimov's
first law, unlike Ash, the android movie Alien, 1979, that to fulfill its mission, decides to kill the
entire crew.
In Robocop, 1987, a cyborg is built from the body of a policeman killed in service, and
scheduled to follow three laws similar to Asimov's Laws: serving the public, protect the
innocent and enforce the law. However, there is a secret fourth directive, which ensures their
submission to their leaders, even involving the breaking of any of the other laws. However, at
the climax of the film his human nature can disobey this law (which will never happen with real
robots). In the same film, is shown a dangerous result of autonomy in robots, where the
prototype robot cop comes into ED-209 malfunctions during a demonstration and ends up
killing a person.
Although the laws appear adequate at first, there are a number of problems arising from the
use of a small set of rules to guide the behavior of an individual. For example, a robot would be
able to tell if a person is being hurt? Then he could stop avoiding surgery that a doctor perform
an incision? How could he look at the context of a situation to decide?
As always obey the orders given by humans, provided that no harm is caused, the question
arises whether it is appropriate that a robot follow any order given to it by anyone. There may
be someone ordering a pointless task, and it ends preventing the robot to perform an activity
possibly more relevant. Another issue is that in many cases, measures taken by humans can be
worse than those that robots would take. However, by allowing the robot to an optional
execution orders, opens up a precedent for insubordination total between machine and man,
as addressed in many works.
Since creating a set of rules to define ethical behavior is very complex, an alternative to build
moral robots would allow a robot to learn ethical behavior, just as children grow to learn what
behaviors are moral. Alan Turing supports this idea in the article "Can Machines Think?" 1950,
where it said the following sentence:
"Instead of trying to produce a program to simulate the adult mind, why not try to produce
one which simulates the mind of a child. If it is a process subject to appropriate education,
then we obtain the adult brain. "
This involves introducing concepts of evolution and machine learning in the development of
the robot allowing himself has the ability to build your behavior.
Moreover, evolutionary techniques not always lead to formation of ethical behaviors. In 2009,
in an experiment conducted at the Polytechnic School of Lausanne, Switzerland, programmed
robots to cooperate in finding relatively few resources have learned to lie to each other in
order to share resources not found.
Another very important ethical aspect is related to the construction of military robots. Building
robots with the ability to kill people is a major focus of discussion related to the ethics of the
machines. Even with the high degree of failure, is increasing the number of robots that are
being actively used in armed conflicts, including some having the ability to decide how to shoot
somebody.
In 2000, the U.S. Congress ordered that a third of military ground vehicles and aerial bombers
were replaced by robotic vehicles. According to the field of the New York Times, 2005, the
Pentagon has the goal of replacing soldiers for future autonomous robots.
The main argument for the use of military robots is that they will be saving lives of soldiers. In
contrast, many argue that it is suitable for a robot to pass responsibility on people's lives. In
April 2011, the Defense Minister of the United Kingdom said in a report that is necessary to
examine whether replacing humans by robots in a war, the men would not be risking losing
their humanity and to end the war becoming more common.
With the increasing proximity of coexistence between humans and robots in society emerged
the concept of Roboética proposed by Gianmarco Veruggio in 2002. The Roboética bother to
study how robots should be designed, constructed, operated and treated by men.
One of the main topics of study is as might be the right of the robot (if they will have rights).
An argument for the creation of the rights of robots, similar to that used for the rights of
animals, is that if there is sentience, that is, if robots are able to feel, suffer or be happy, then
they should have rights.
On the other hand, at the time robots acquire rights, the question arises of how
responsibilities can be assigned to a robot, and if it reduces the liability of its owners or
designers. Several works of fiction dealing with issues of rights and responsibilities of robots,
which can be highlighted "Bicentennial Man" and "I, Robot."
3. Videos
Industrial robots:
. Braços robóticos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KlG5GoEw4k
. Robôs de vários tipos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkNVhtOCcrE
Humanoid robots:
. Robô dançarino: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vwZ5FQEUFg
. Androide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFVlzUAZkHY
. Asimo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvruMLGiAdI
. BigDog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGo0xsImasw
. Violinista: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzjkBwZtxp4
. Futebol de robôs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLKKbz2mNyo
Other Robots:
. Guerra de robôs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcsuZfE0dcI
. Luta de robôs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqy1bDf9fVo
. Robô pássaro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l0xavWi7kU
Fictional robots:
. C3PO e R2D2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhwSbHytvuU
. Terminator: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ7Ecs1GuTM
. Rosey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIcU5C7HQMs
References
[1] BALDESSIN, M. G. S., A Ficção Científica Como Derivação da Utopia -a Inteligência Artificial.
Campinas, 2006. 151 págs. Dissertação (Mestrado em História e Teoria Literária) Instituto de
Estudos da Linguagem da Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
[2] Nós, robôs. Isaac Asimov.
[3] Moral Machines. Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong. Wendell Wallach
and Colin Allen