The moral dilemmas of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Big changes are looming - and many are already upon us. ...Robots are taking our jobs already - how can we earn a living when there are no jobs left for humans? ...What else is coming?

These realities are being discussed the world over, mostly by scientists, economists, policy makers and businessmen. Time we joined the discussion, don't you think?

The moral dilemmas of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Should your driverless car value your life over a pedestrian's? Should your Fitbit activity be used against you in a court case? Should we allow drones to become the new paparazzi? Can one patent a human gene?

Scientists are already struggling with such dilemmas. As we enter the new machine age, we need a new set of codified morals to become the global norm. We should put as much emphasis on ethics as we put on fashionable terms like disruption.

"...Because of the great potential of AI, it is important to research how to reap its benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls."

Here are some of the specific questions being asked, that need answers:

Following is a sample, by no means exhaustive, of the ethical decisions which will face us:

Life Sciences. Should gene editing be legal to manipulate the human race and create “designer babies”? ..The list of ethical questions is long: what if a pre-natal test predicted your child would have an IQ of 80 points, well below average, unless you undertook a little editing? What if these technologies were limited to only a wealthy people?

AI, machine learning and data. Over time, Artificial Intelligence will help us make all kinds of decisions. But how do we ensure these algorithms are fairly designed? How do we iron out biases from such systems, which will eventually be used to determine job promotions, college admissions and even our choice of a life partner?

...Bots and Machines. How do we decide what driverless cars can decide? How do we decide what Robots can decide? Will there be a need for the robot equivalent of a Bill of Rights? What about the rights of humans to marry robots and of robots to own property? Should a highly advanced Cyborg be allowed to run for political office?

It's definitely past time to move forward. But how?

The dialogue needs to move beyond academic journals and opinion articles to include government committees and international bodies such as the UN.

So far we have taken a siloed approach – from worldwide banning on human cloning to partial restrictions on GM Foods. Different regions have also taken disparate views and failed to orchestrate a unified response: the EU’s approach to managing the societal impact of new technologies is markedly different from that of the US. China, on the other hand, has always taken the long view. Technology is like water – it’ll find its open spaces. In an interconnected world, local decisions are only effective when enabled by international consensus.

Humans have an amazing tendency to adapt to changes in situation.
Moral compasses will bend with the times too.

If in the not too far future, robots can perform most if not all the work currently held by humans, perhaps the way we view money and the economy as a whole will have to change. Maybe in the future there is no work or income as we know it, and the pursuit of knowledge, arts, philosophy and hobbies will occupy our time.

originally posted by: joemoe
If in the not too far future, robots can perform most if not all the work currently held by humans, perhaps the way we view money and the economy as a whole will have to change. Maybe in the future there is no work or income as we know it, and the pursuit of knowledge, arts, philosophy and hobbies will occupy our time.

Knowledge, arts, philosophy, and any hobby come in the form of replicable systems. If a computer can be programmed to find the best move in chess, it can be programmed to find the next note in a melody.

I think the reality is that we will learn how God feels when our creature rebels against us.

Robots will soon be manufacturing robots. All jobs around producing material wealth will be gone.

So all that will be left will be jobs created for the purposes of culture and community. The problem is most of the oligarchs do not want to have excessive spending on culture and community.

So the question becomes are we going to have a mass genocide of billions of people by killer military robots. Or are we going to somehow convince the oligarchs the value of having billions of people contributing to a world community and culture.

I hope we do not go down the path of the killer robots and mass genocide.

originally posted by: joemoe
If in the not too far future, robots can perform most if not all the work currently held by humans, perhaps the way we view money and the economy as a whole will have to change. Maybe in the future there is no work or income as we know it, and the pursuit of knowledge, arts, philosophy and hobbies will occupy our time.

My thoughts exactly.

This mind field series is pretty good. I think the AI companion implications of the near future are fascinating.

a reply to: Templeton

Got any transcripts?

a reply to: true4man

Lucky you to own land!

...Any advice for the billions who don't?