Work I Completed
This week in robotics I looked through the robot ethics task assigned in preperation for the upcoming exam. This task simply involved reading an article covering robot ethics, and pressumably understanding it. I decided to write notes on the ~ 1.5 pages of content. The content focused more specifically on the economical impact of robotics, caused by the creation and removal of jobs. The article was written in a Stanford encyclopedia, so I assume it is accurate. I will try to summarize it.
The economical effects of robotics are most seen in the job market, as evidenced by other similar technological leaps causing major job market disruptions, such as the farming industry. Previously the world has seen technological revolutions that replace muscle, however robots and AI can replace the brain. Due to this, median skill jobs, which make up the majority of the job market, are the ones more likely to be replaced by technology, and hence a more radical change to the job market may occur, and more jobs may be destroyed than created. These are speculative guesses however; and most academics agree there are two main labor market effects.
In simple terms:
- How the nature of interactions between workers and new technologies (likely replacement or co-existence) will affect the number of job positions.
- The vast increase in productivity will cause the work market to change and hence the dynamic between work hours and buying power may change.
An effect we can see right now creates an inequality of skill. The threat of working a median skilled job will cause them to become in low demand, high skilled jobs to become in high demand (highly paid), and low skill jobs to be in high demand (low pay). People will accept earning less money, if it means being in a stable job.
Goods distribution should be the same for all income earners, but the AI economy would create inequality in this regard. In a digital world, digital companies operate outside one government body, meaning there is increased dificulty in regulating them. The digital world is prone to monopolies due to the increased recourses larger companies have. Intangible digital assets like NFTs and Crypto are not tangible things, and current legislation has difficulty regulating them. This difficulty in regulation means companies face little legal retaliation, and do what makes the most money. This is often unethical, and in some cases means creating an in-equal distribution of goods.
The environmental impacts of AI and robotics are often left rarely discussed, but are very important. AI and robotics systems produce e-waste which is difficult to recycle, and consume a significant amount of energy. This could create further environmental issues when the technologies become more mainstream.
Reflection
Do you think this was an effective summary of the article?
The article was written in an academic writing style, and I found it difficult to understand at times, especially when it used economical concepts that I did not know. This was especially true in the two main labor market effects of robotics and AI, as the two points were almost cryptic (at least to me). Considering this, I am not entirely sure if my interpretation of the article is correct, and I am sure if I compared it to another classmates summary, there would be differences. I made this summary at night, and as I continued to write the summary, I got more and more tired so the accuracy most likely lowers the further down you read.
Do you feel you have sufficiently prepared for the exam?
As the exam is a short response based on stimulus material, I do not think that you can ever be properly prepared for it. There are so many factors influencing academic performance at a given time, and to remove the constant factor of studying the content makes me nervous. I think the best form of study for this test is practicing the format, which I will do at least once before the test. I think the most important thing is to be confident in my abilities in IT, and know that I am going to do well on the test, even if I don’t study for it.