Robots for the Common Good

I am the first one to acknowledge that when we need help, it is nice to have another pair of hands. But are we forsaking our humanity by giving that position over to a robot? Why are we so quick to think this is best for human beings.

As we become more and more inundated with tech, we seem to think now we can hand over all the repetitive tasks and ones not so glamorous to a device that only resembles us in the makeshift appendages and a voice that sounds human.

Imagine an old person in a seniors facility who is struggling with movement. She or he looks up to see this semi-human device cheerily asking if she/he needs it to do something to help.

What kind of help does that person really need? I admit a lifting machine could be handy but most interactions should be involved with real people since it shows that person they are still valued as a living being.

I also happen to know it builds character when we do things that are not necessarily appealing but we do them to be of service. Remember that, the thing we did to help others because we care?

We may outsmart ourselves by building replicas to do much of the drudgery but are we also gradually then forgetting how to do things since we are becoming reliant on a robot to do it for us?

Humans have the ability to reason and learn much from doing simple things. It is said that it is not the destination but the journey. Why are we in such a hurry to get to that location if the journey is the thing that creates memories and joy?

I think we need to work with robots, it is a story we cannot change, but we cannot have them replace us for various tasks unless those things being done are dangerous or too heavy for us to handle. Even then, we should not relinquish control.