Information Technology in a Global Society

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Exam Prep 10

2.4.1 Robotics

Social and ethical issues
Paper One and Two may require you to evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of robotics.
These may include:

• social and economic effects of replacing people with robots in the workplace

• ethical decisions regarding the use of robots in situations that might endanger human beings

• social impact of human interaction with robots, eg artificial pets, robots for the disabled and elderly

• social impact and ethical considerations regarding the use of robotics in medicine, eg robotic surgery, computer-controlled prostheses

• reliability of robotic devices, particularly in life-threatening situations.

Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of robotics, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:

key terms—robot, android, cyborg, sensors

• determining situations in which it is more appropriate to use a robot than a human being

• types of input/output peripherals used in various situations, eg arms, fingers, voice, wheels

• reasons why robots are/are not designed as androids with human-like form

• the capabilities and limitations of robots with respect to vision, touch, sound and movement

• processing power in relation to the capabilities and limitations of robots.

Resources
Robot Nation - This is an excellent (but very long) article about the social and economic effects of robots

Ethical and Social Implications - This is a great resource of information about the social and ethical issues that arise with the development of robots

Do you understand these issues and terms? If you don't then do some research - find out what it ALL means.

When you think you know about Robots answer the questions below using a pen/pencil and paper:

Click here for a print version

The chances of having an obedient robot do unwelcome or dangerous jobs have increased tremendously, with orders for industrial robots rising to a record 18 per cent in the first half of this year. In homes about 4 million autonomous vacuum cleaners and lawn-mowers are already in operation. Right now Japan uses about 320 robots of all sorts per 10,000 employees, while Germany uses 148 industrial robots per 10,000 employees. In the car industry alone, there is one robot per 10 workers in Japan, Italy and Germany.

1. Define android and cyborg  [2 marks]

2. Humans have used tools and machines to assist them since the dawn of time. Distinguish between a traditional machine and a robot [4 marks]

3. Examine two benefits robots offer for the car industry. [4 marks]

4. Evaluate one social issue and one ethical issue of the increased use of robots in the home. [10 marks]