Neymar anti-Asimov Laws of Robotics effect
This sounds like a joke, but the matter is really serious.
After watching a video about the supposed inevitability of the increased use of robots in economic and everyday activity, a friend wondered when Isaac Asimov's three Laws of Robotics will be adopted. This deserves some reflection. But first let's remember them here:
The First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
The Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
The Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
In general, it can be said that these three Laws have an important civilizing mission. They would allow humans to coexist with robots. But this problem raised by Isaac Asimov in his literary work is only imaginary. Governments do not necessarily exist to ensure civilization, but to monopolize barbarism.
Civilized countries guarantee the right to life and property, freedom of expression and the press, the presumption of innocence and the privacy of their citizens. In many cases, this is subject to constitutional protection or at least precedents established by Supreme Courts. International law also guarantees these rights.
But spy software that uses AI capabilities aims to invade personal computers and smartphones to obtain sensitive information. They work based on the “principle of automated suspicion” and operate in violation of privacy without respecting the limitations imposed by any national or international legislation. Spy agencies act as if they were outside the law and in some countries they do not undergo any real or effective type of judicial or parliamentary oversight.
The main objective of a military conflict is both to physically eliminate the enemy and his will to fight and to prevent him from using the economic resources at his disposal to fight back. Killing people and destroying industries, cities, countries, devastating forests, is the dirty Law of war. There are rules of military engagement, but the truth is that in war the protection of the life and property of innocent civilians are two extremely difficult things to guarantee. In some cases this is impossible.
It is evident, therefore, that the Three Laws of Robotics have no application when the State takes control of Artificial Intelligence technology to spy on adversaries and its own citizens or to empower weapons that will be used autonomously or with some supervision from military officers. But would these Laws imagined by Isaac Asimov be applicable in relation to the civil and industrial use of robots? There is controversy here too. To better think about the subject, we will make a small historical digression.
In the 19th century, some thinkers feared that the intensive and growing use of horses would condemn cities to be buried in horse manure. This did not happen, because horses were replaced by cars powered by combustion engines. When horses stopped being used for transportation, no one feared that the atmosphere would become saturated with carbon monoxide expelled by car exhausts. But this happened and caused climate change.
Today some people say that the replacement of workers with AI-empowered robots is inevitable. This is evidently the case with a video posted on YouTube.
If robots cause a real and substantial change in the job market, the number of people without work and income will grow and become immense and unsustainable. The increase in production by robots will coexist with a reduction in the consumption of goods and this will lead to crises of excess production and a drop in tax collection, making it difficult to maintain income distribution programs.
Over time the result will be a growing number of useless robots that produce goods that will not be sold. Karl Marx believed that the organized hatred of workers would destroy capitalism. He was wrong. The replacement of workers by robots and the hatred that businesspeople have for workers will destroy the capitalist production regime.
But let's suppose that this doesn't happen, that robots and human beings can work side by side or in different activities with efficiency, productivity and economic return for both businesspeople and workers. Even in this case there would be a huge number of unemployed people (in fact a high structural unemployment rate seems to be a characteristic of neoliberal capitalism).
Unemployed and incomeless people are disappointed and angry and, if they cannot attack the powerful who have turned them into social trash, they will take it out in some way. It is at this point that the Three Laws of Robotics become a problem.
Neymar became famous for being a great football player. But he also entered sporting infamy for simulating attacks and fouls that he did not suffer. He was even punished a few times for this habit and became the subject of memes especially during World Cups. I really can't see the point of replacing players with robots, but I think Neymar has something to teach us when it comes to robotics.
The intensive use of robots in businesses and in everyday life in general can be used by ordinary unemployed people to produce a new type of economic disruption if Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are implemented. People could use the first Law to attract the attention of robots, forcing them to provide help to people who do not really need help and are only simulating pain to cause damage to the economic interests of the robots' owners. This is what I call Neymar anti-Asimov Laws of Robotics effect.
In short, just as States will not stop using AI to harm human beings (to kill people, spy and destroy property), the interests of capitalist businesspeople are intrinsically contrary to the implementation of Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. That seems to me to be the only plausible conclusion here.