Blog Assignment #1

Robots and robotics are fascinating things built by great human minds. It may not seem like it, but we humans have been using some form of them for over a thousand years.

“Automatons—mechanisms that perform predefined tasks with some degree

of autonomy—are the early predecessors of robots and have existed for

more than 1,000 years.” (Desiano 169).

By using automatons or robots, we have been able to build a great many things and become a more productive society in terms of manufacturing. With the ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence and all the current technological advancements being made, what kind of impact will that have on the current and future labor force and job markets? Using the film I, Robot as well as several popular and scholarly articles I will argue that the portrayal of robots is an  inaccurate depiction of our current and future labor force.

Author: Salvator Domenick Desiano

Title: Robotics

Journal: Computer Sciences

Source: Gale Reference Library

In this article Desiano provides a rich historical background for how robots and robotics got started. By doing this Desiano lays a groundwork to build upon and support his argument, that technological advances have come rather quickly in the last century and their uses are so important for society as a whole. He describes the uses for various fields, such as medical, manufacturing, and scientific.

I feel like adding an historical element to my research can only enrich my research paper as a whole, regardless of my opinion.  

Author: Jennifer Croissant and Selma Sabanovic

Title: Robotics and Social Robotics

Journal: Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues

Source: Gale Reference Library

This article has almost a completely opposite directive than the previous one. It argues that although robots have replaced humans in the workplace at certain points in time, the emergence of new technologies and robotics in the workplace allow for the creation of higher paying and higher skilled jobs to maintain and design and implement these new robots in that environment. “So, consider the automatic grocery-store checkout system. There are usually four stations and one clerk, and it seems to save the wages of at least three checkout clerks to have customers themselves using the automatic system. But the costs of design, implementation, and upkeep of these systems may be very high: the wages of one programmer may be more than that of the four clerks replaced.” (Croissant & Sabonovic 1609)

I chose this source for the alternative view of robots in the workplace.