Over the holidays, a video clip of dancing robots made the rounds of the Internet. The robots in question are designed by Boston Dynamics, a US-based robot engineering and design company.
The clip is evidence of the quickening progress in robotics and a viewer could easily conclude that within a decade or so, robots will have moved from the set of Star Wars to our daily lives.
While the engineering feat displayed in the clip is meant to be a feel-good bit of marketing, it does bring to the fore the following two concerns:
1. Regulation
What is the state of “Robot and Artificial Intelligence Law” in Canada and elsewhere?
The short answer: scattered and insufficient. Societies legislate after the fact, but it will have to be different with robots, especially ambulatory robots and other machines that intermingle with humans. These robots, including delivery and security robots, pose many proximity risks to humans.
Legislation will have to be comprehensive and cover robots from “cradle to grave.” As always, early legislators and regulators will have greatest input and influence on the design, manufacturing, programming, operation and recycling of robots.
2. Regime Change
Who will financially benefit from the deployment of the robots? The manufacturer, the owner, the customer, displaced workers, remaining workers, society as a whole, or all — or some fraction — of the above?
The rapid deployment of robots will likely cause massive job losses and a deterioration in working conditions. Robots are expected to replace broad categories of workers, including millions of logistics workers driving trucks, shipping goods, stocking shelves, and delivering parcels to our doorsteps. Walmart and Amazon are the two largest private sector employers in the US and they directly and indirectly employ hundreds of thousands of logistics workers.
The word robot is apparently derived from the Czech word robota (“forced labour” or “serf”) and history both ancient and recent teaches us what happens when an economy benefits only a small sliver of society.
Massive job losses will put considerable pressure on our institutions and create ideal conditions for the rise of populism and other less than democratic doctrines. Numerous recent politicians in the Americas and Europe have demonstrated over the last five years what happens when governments fail to address industrial decay and the distress caused by pervasive unemployment. It is essential for our democracies to provide countermeasures for the eventual job losses and related problems that would be caused by a rapid and unregulated introduction of robots.
Throughout 2021, I will continue to examine risks posed by the introduction of robots into the economy, and attempt to propose solutions to mitigate negative consequences.